


Weight of the World

by Tsume_Yuki



Series: Atlas Sneezed [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: And A Self Insert, Because Secrecy!, Female Naruto, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, In Which Sasuke Is Not An Ass, Pairing Decided But Hidden For Now, Please Don't Hate Me, There'll Be Some Character Deaths
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-18 09:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 147,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3564629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsume_Yuki/pseuds/Tsume_Yuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto Uzumaki is the saviour, the prophecy child. If there is one body you don't want to get shoved into, it's that one. Suddenly female or not. </p><p>And as the gods would have it, that's exactly where I ended up. </p><p>In the body of a blonde, whiskered female child with a mountain of expectations pressing down on those tiny little shoulders. </p><p>Brilliant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

_ A lot of people wish to be in the Naruto world, a whole lot of them. They're stupid people that look at Hinata and Sakura and all the other Kunoichi and think 'why are they doing that? I would have done it like this, I would have done it better. I could live her life better than her'.  _

_ Well, that's all good and true if you think so.  _

_ So now picture the main hero, Naruto. Now picture a universe where he is born as a girl. Weird right? It get's worse. Now picture getting dropped into this female Naruto's body. Oh yeah, you may sit there thinking 'I could totally live that life, I'd befriend the Kyuubi and everything!'.  _

_ But you don't seem to understand, the weight of the world rests of this kid's shoulders. This kid is pretty much 'The Saviour'. So when I wished to end up in the Naruto world as I laid on the road, bleeding out, the last person I wanted to end up as was Naruto himself. Or would it be herself now?  _

_ Regardless, that's exactly where I ended up. _

* * *

 

I'm six years old when my brain finally takes the time to fully organise itself. It's difficult to explain in all honesty, but when I came into full awareness in this new body, it was like waking up from a long sleep. 

The few memories of this body's life that I had were like little wisps from a dream, echoing in the back of my skull and lingering only just in reach. Years later, I'd realize that it was probably my adult memories being shuffled about in my biologically child sized brain, that before that day it didn't hold the capacity to actually organise and use my memories. 

The fates weren't even decent enough to let this happen in the privacy of my own apartment either, instead it all hit me whilst I was in the middle of the street. 

One moment I'm skipping along, a normal six year old child that gets more than her fair share of glares from the people around me. The next, I'm waking up after being unceremoniously splattered across black-top by a rather large car. 

I'd stumbled in my steps, almost tripping in the oh so very odd blue shoes I was wearing. Five toes peeked out from the sandals on each foot, wriggling when I asked them to. They were cute, small digits that sat at the ends of my feet, lightly tanned. And it was no wonder, the sun on the back of my neck was warm and I barely registered the bright blonde pigtails that made up my hair as they fluttered about in the wind. 

Instead, I took a good look around the streets, ignoring the ferocious glares that were being sent my way. I took in the somewhat familiar sensory, saw the four towering faces upon the large mountain face off to one side of the village. 

Slowly, I began walking again, hands stuffed into the ratty pockets of my baggy pants and my feet carrying me the usual route that was all but engrained into my body.

 

I arrived back at the apartment fairly quickly opening the door and calmly shutting it behind me. Without thinking too much, I kicked off my shoes, dropping my tee-shirt and pants as I made my way to my bed before crawling under the covers, wrapping up into a small ball. 

I was in the Naruto world. Somehow, when I'd died, I'd bounced from my own world and crashed into a new one, complete with a new body. 

For a moment, it sounded quite exciting. And for a moment, I was quite excited. I'd bounced up and out of bed after a five minute melt-down, making my way into the worn looking bathroom to inspect my new body in the mirror. Bright blue eyes stared back at me, but that didn't worry me nearly as much as the whiskered cheeks. There was only one person in Konoha that had whiskered cheeks, one person who played the biggest role in the whole story-line, and who was most certainly not a girl. The blonde pig-tails and facial structure told me otherwise. 

Somehow, I'd ended up in the body of a female Naruto. The proclaimed child of the prophecy. The one whom had the weight of the world resting upon his -was it her now?- shoulders. If there was one person's destiny I did not want to live out, it was this one. I wasn't strong enough for this, no one but Naruto was! I couldn't handle something like this, I was just a normal girl who'd wanted a bit of excitement after dying a stupid death. 

So I did the one thing I knew I could do. 

 

Which was to crawl back into bed and cry my heart out.


	2. The First Significant Difference

Life was difficult. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to sugar coat it. There's a lot missed out of those manga pages. The sheer oppressive power that a collection of civilians can give off; the hatred runs so deep. The words cut a little deeper every day.

And I wasn't Naruto.

I couldn't respond with pranks and loud declarations. I couldn't smile back like it didn't bother me, because I'd be lying. Instead, I retreated inwards, I became quiet, reserved and did my best to stay out of the way.

The change was, perhaps too rapid to happen in the space of a week.

But I'd been so busy trying to figure out what was going on, forgetting to sleep, forgetting to eat, forgetting basic necessities to the point an ANBU had to step in, boxed lunch in one hand and sleeping pills in the other.

So it shouldn't have really surprised me when the Hokage came to see me the next day. I was instantly assaulted with Naruto's memories, of the kind, elderly man that'd taken her out for ramen every so often, offered her the warmth and affection that she so craved. And after the week I'd had, the week where strangers I'd never spoken to before whispered vicious death threats, only audible as a result of my enchanted hearing, I could really use a bit of that love.

"Jiji, am I a demon?" I cocked my head back, not even trying to hide the tears that formed in the corner of my eyes. Of course, they were for a different reason.

I wasn't ready to accept my position in this life yet, I was stressed beyond belief because this village that hated me would eventually need me to save them. From a One-Tailed Demon, from an invasion by the Akatsuki. From the Fourth Ninja War.

But they were so hateful. Did I even want to save them?

I knew instantly when I asked the question what the answer was. Yes. Because it was the right thing to do, and I could rise above the hatred. If Naruto could do it, so could I.

"No Naruto. You are Naruto Uzumaki, and you're a citizen of the Leaf Village, just like everybody else."

Frowning, I'd stuck my bottom lip out, eyebrows drawn together above my scrunched up nose.

"I don't wanna be a citizen, I wanna be a ninja! Then I can protect my precious people like you Jiji! If I show them that I'm like everyone else and want to look after my precious people, then maybe we can all be friends!"

 

I was enrolled in the academy the next day. And while all the other children that were two years my senior played around, laughed and joked about becoming the greatest ninjas to ever live, I knuckled down. I soaked up all the knowledge I could from the academy, I refined my stealth skills by sneaking into the library, borrowing all the ninja scrolls I could.

By the time my first month at the academy had passed, I'd managed to sneak into the Genin section of the public library, distracting the Genin teams on guard wasn't all that hard, and their Jonin sensei seemed to think if I could get past them, I was okay to have a little snoop around.

Of course, it wasn't until I approached the Third Hokage four months into my course regarding my absolutely abysmal success with the clone jutsu that I realized the old man was purposely letting me into the genin section of the library. I bugged him for the shadow clone jutsu, and the second he granted it after assessing my chakra levels, I sent the clones out to learn everything. They dealt with chakra theory, chakra practice and all of the book work I'd need to graduate.

I trained my body.

I sought out ninja at every free hour of the day I had and asked them for training. And while most turned me away, sneering, there was one in every five that would agree. Gai being one of them. A terrifying experience, for my body had never been pushed that far before, but rewarding. Now and then, we pass each other on our laps around Konoha, I always with a ANBU escort hidden in the shadows and Gai always on his hands.

I trained, often pushed myself to the limit in order to collapse into bed exhausted, only to roll out at dawn and start the whole day again. But this wasn't my old life. If I slacked off here, I'd die. And I didn't want to do that again. Never again. If that meant pushing my body until it broke, then so be it.

Gai was always in tears over my 'youthfulness', and I could only pray I didn't end up with him following me around to use as a shining example for his future students. I would rather prefer to avoid a vengeful Neji Hyūga and Tenten.

 

The graduation exam came around ten months into the academy. I was at the top of the class, despite the teachers' best attempts at sabotage. They couldn't seem to understand how I'd gotten so smart so quick.

I never mentioned to anyone about the shadow clones that were scattered around Konoha under various Henges, learning anything and everything that could one day become useful.

Regarding the exam, I'd played with the idea of not taking the test.

I needed to be on Team Seven. The future depended on it. Which meant I needed Hatake Kakashi as a Jonin sensei.

I'd done the math, I was the extra kid in the final class now, the Hokage having bumped me up after taking a look at a previous essay and witnessing my use of Taijutsu. He winced once, when he watched me moving through the katas. I got the feeling that the image of Minato, my father in this world, had overlapped with my own, no doubt my 'genius' reminding him all to painfully of our obvious resemblance.

The chances of me getting Kakashi as a Jonin sensei, with myself acting as an apprentice, was high. I was the odd child out that ruined the teams of three, Kakashi had been taught by my father and he was the only one with a Sharingan that could be trusted to subdue the Kyuubi should it make a sudden reappearance. Yamato would probably have been a better choice, but if I remember correctly, he's even younger than Kakashi, who should have just turned twenty one.

So I took the test.

And I passed, with flying colours at the grand old age of six years and fifty one weeks old.

 

Which just about brings us up-to-date.

 

* * *

 

 

The Hokage had taken me out for dinner last night, to celebrate my incredible success at graduating before I turned seven. The Third was honestly a sweet reprise between what I had to put up with on a daily basis. It always blindsided me, the treatment that was.

Not just because it was terrible, I'd long grown used to that, but because the villagers did nothing to inspire village loyalty within me. If I were an actual kid, if it were anyone other than Naruto, I bet the Jinchuriki would have left at the first chance they got.

Hell, sometimes I'd even entertained the day dream of running away from everything. I was weak willed to even think it, but I wasn't gutsy enough to flee. There was far too much in the future that'd come to bite me, and I had a better chance of surviving it should I stay in the village.

That didn't mean I understood why the villagers where trying to drive off such a powerful piece of their military force.

In fact, I'd probably never understand. But that didn't worry me at the moment, and probably wouldn't for a long time.

 

Walking into the classroom, I carefully adjusted my orange sweatshirt, tucked into the black, three quarter pants I wore. My hair, that'd once fallen to the centre of my back in a beautiful golden wave was gone now, cut boyishly short in the same spikes that I saw upon the mountain. The same bangs framed my face too, no doubt the spitting image of Minato, only miniature. It wasn't done intentionally, but I knew that long hair would be a liability at this stage of the game, so away it went. If the academy teacher had flinched upon the sight of me, then that was just a bonus.

No one in class liked me. They were only just old enough to remember the Kyuubi, and with their parents telling them to stay far, far away from me, the one born on that night- well, they were only too happy to comply. The fact that I was five to six years younger than them, that was just salt in the wound. The team assignments were read out, and just as I had predicted, I was told I was under an apprenticeship, requested specifically by the Jonin that was to be my sensei. Hatake Kakashi. There was instant uproar at that little announcement.

"But Ekiken-sensei! She's just a brat! Why would a Jonin want her?!"

"Uzumaki was requested by Hatake-san due to her graduation age, seeing as he too graduated early at the age of five years old. This order came from higher up Asano." The brunette that sensei had been addressing crumpled back into his seat with a mutinous frown upon his face, clearly not picking up the undercurrent, the meanings that'd been hidden in the sentence. The order came from higher up, the Hokage was playing favourites. Well, as long as it wasn't going to cost me anything, as long as it would only benefit me, no way was I going to complain.

"Your Jonin senseis will meet you here in an hour."

 

A clone had made my dinner this morning while I was getting changed, so I was quite comfortable, sat in what was now my previous classroom with a ham and cheese sandwich. I had them all over the village, the clones that was, and they were just learning all sorts of factual information.

In fact, I was running what would probably amount to a sweatshop back home, only with my clones doing all the work.

For you see, no one wants to in the same building as the Jinchuriki, never mind right next door. So there were plenty of studios that laid empty in my current apartment building. Only the truly desperate, those with nowhere else to go, dared to venture into my territory.

Which meant that I had plenty of places to set up my little workshops.

Some clones had read all about witling, along with any other skill that involved wood. And if in the past month several trees had suddenly disappeared and a merchant selling wooden wears varying from little carved charms to exquisitely made tables, then it most certainly had no connection to me.

And if merchants had popped up more and more in Konoha without the gate guards actually signing them passage into the village, merchants selling recipe books for meals never heard of before or clothes that looked radically different to anything that'd ever been seen before, well, these events were clearly unrelated to my sudden abuse of the shadow clone jutsu.

I was raking in the money.

With henge, I was able to buy all the good produce and cook healthy, nutritious and most important of all, homely meals. I got enough money to open a savings account -done with the Hokage stood behind me wearing that disarming smile as he stared down the man opening my bank account- while the rest of the money was spent doing up my flat.

It looked nice now. No chipped paint, no running pipes or squeaky floorboards. I splashed out on a thick shag rug, but everything else had been made by clone power. A gorgeous table and chairs, a beautiful bed lovingly carved with the nine Bijū decorating the cupboard doors beneath it. A lot of the things I owned now had all been made by my own hands.

Well, by clones, but it was pretty much the same thing.

Being able to hold one hundred clones for a whole day really paid off.

Though I was pretty sure that the only reason the Hokage had allowed my little underground business to keep running was because no money was leaving Konoha, it was just passing to me instead of the clothes shops, or the furniture people.

Maybe he got a chuckle over the fact that because they'd denied me sales in the past, I had adapted and was now the one running them out of a business, slowly but surely. I'd stop before that happen like, but watching them feel like a noose was tightening around their necks made me feel just a little happier after what I'd gone through previously. For the name calling, for the hateful glares.

Hell, maybe it could even be considered a prank then.

Smiling slightly to myself, I took another bite of my sandwich, contemplating what I wanted my clones to start on now.

They couldn't go about learning jutsu until I'd been given the basic steps to whatever I wanted to learn. Maybe Fūinjutsu, there were some beginner scrolls in the library. The best thing about the whole letting the clones learn for me thing was that they could test something potentially explosive, and if it did go bang, then I was in no danger of being blown to pieces. No harm, no foul.

Even if the memories of such a thing made me shudder slightly.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"There's no one else Kakashi. I am removing your from ANBU and instating you as a Jonin sensei."

Staring at the Third Hokage, Hatake Kakashi couldn't find the words to voice his opinion on such an idea as the one that'd just been presented to him.

Him, tutor little Naruto? His sensei's daughter?

No, she was better off as far away from him as she could be. He would only get her killed, like he did Obito, like he did Rin. Either that or he wouldn't be present when she faced down a threat far greater than herself, just like when he'd not been there when Minato-sensei had needed him. She'd end up-

"You're not going to get her killed Kakashi."

"How do you know that."

He'd been a naive Jonin when he lost Obito, a panicked teen who's confidence had taken a blow when he lost Rin. He was not ready to look after the only thing of his sensei that remained. He wasn't strong enough, would never be strong enough to keep her safe.

"How do I know? Well let's see. Your squad has the greatest success rate without loss of a teammate, so I know you'll go out of your way to keep her safe. You need to stop beating yourself over this Kakashi. Naruto needs you, and I am sure Minato would trust no other to look after his precious daughter."

It should have been Obito. He'd have known how to look after a child. Kakashi had never even been one himself, how was he suppose to know what to do with a child, regardless of supposed genius or not.

"This is an order Kakashi. Please give the girl a chance, does she not deserve that at least?"

He was beaten. He couldn't find it in himself to ignore a direct order.

 Reaching for the file that'd been offered to him previously, Kakashi flicked back the front cover, wincing at the sight of the image inside. Uzumaki Naruto stared out, hair cut boyishly short and so much like her father it was painful.

"She is a sight to see, is she not? Kakashi, I'm not fully removing you from ANBU. As skilled as you are, there will be times when I require you to take lead of your squad again. But I trust no one else to watch over Naruto."

"Hai Hokage-sama." Kakashi murmured absentmindedly, flicking through the reports and unable to help the twitch to his lips as he absorbed the information on offer. Shadow clone jutsu, and apparently putting that to use running her own underground business ring.

That was, different.

"Besides, I'm the Hokage, I can't be the one to fight off the boys she'll attract."

_Boys?_

 

* * *

 

 

Though it wasn't really a surprise, I was still a little annoyed that I ended up waiting an extra hour when all the other freshly minted genin trudged off with the senseis and their smug smiles. It was Hatake Kakashi, and while my emotions may have been bubbling between resentment and adoration, I forced myself to keep my face blank when he finally did surface.

He could have kept a better eye on me, his sensei's only child, but then again, he was a highly skilled ninja and as a result, was probably in high demand. I'd seen his distinctive hair among my ANBU guard before today though, so I knew he hadn't completely thrown caution to the wind and left me to my own devices.

The single coal eye stared at me for a moment and I reminded myself that no matter how weird and harmless he may look, he was anything but.

Harmless that was.

Weird he most certainly was, but thinking on Gai, and Jiraiya and Tsunade and the Third, it appeared that all the best people were weird. As it wasn't an Orochimaru kind of weird, I was honestly cool with that.

Shooting to my feet, I quickly brushed down the seat of my pants to rid myself of any crumbs that were left over from my sandwich, making sure to keep my eyes on Kakashi but at the same time leaving only a wall to my back. Paranoia was a ninja's best friend after all, and I needed to get into the habit of using it now, while there was a less chance of something -such as the Akatsuki- striking me down while I was unprepared.

"You're a little weird, aren't you?" Kakashi mused, cocking his head to a side slightly, both hands stuffed into the pockets of his trousers. But I wasn't stupid, I was well aware that he could have them wrapped around my neck and squeezing the life out of me in the time it took for me to blink. I would not be underestimating anyone ever. That was asking for a kunai in the back.

"Isn't everybody sensei?" Drumming my fingers against my thigh for a second, I sat back down in the previous seat I had occupied when Kakashi gestured for me to do so, watching as the silver haired male sat himself down on the desk before my own. Even being on a lower level, it still left him a few inches taller than me when we were both seated, but it was much more comfortable as opposed to having to constantly look up at him.

"So, you graduated early. The Hokage has already informed me of your blatant abuse of the shadow clone jutsu, and while I'm pleased my cute little apprentice is taking the initiative, I want you to cut back on the numbers for now. On your days off you may ruin the shop-keepers lives to your little black heart's content, but while you're under my command, no more than ten and they will work on something relating to your career, be it chakra control or any other form of research. Understood?"

Nodding, I took a small bite of my lower lip, chewing at the skin thoughtfully. It would be best to have them focusing on Fūinjutsu, that was the one that I wanted to explore most, and the clones wouldn't work themselves stupid with chakra exhaustion on that one.

"Understood sensei."

Kakashi gave a low hum in the back of his throat, one hand running through his hair as he adopted a sheepish posture.

"Maa, so why don't you introduce yourself?" I'd already figured that this would be the kind of question I was expected to answer, but regardless of the amount of time I'd considered things I didn't quite know if my answer would be seen as a bit too mature. Regardless, it was too late to change now.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like cooking, learning new things and making new friends. I dislike bullies and suffering I guess. For hobbies, there's obviously cooking, then training and experimenting with my chakra, usually tested through my clones first though... I don't really know if it can be a dream, but I want to see a peaceful world where there's no need to hate each other. It'd be nice if everyone could be friends, you know? But for now, I'll settle for a dream of good teammates in the future... Heh, Your turn sensei."

Kakashi blinked slowly with his one visible eye before it crinkled upwards to show his cheer. Over what, I wasn't quite sure. Because I came off mature for a six, near seven, year old. Because of my dream? Hell, maybe because I liked cooking and that meant he'd have someone to dump the task on whenever we went outside of the village maybe. Regardless, he clearly approved of something, so hopefully my attempt at living Naruto's life wasn't going to end in complete ruin.

Fingers crossed.

"Maa, my name's Hatake Kakashi. I like books too old for you and I dislike those who don't care for their teammates. My hobbies involve avoiding Gai, who I'm told you're familiar with. Dreams for the future," here he broke off with a shrug, hands retreating back into his pockets and I couldn't help but smile. I'd liked Kakashi as a character whilst reading the manga before I came to live this life, and I was pleased to say that it looked like I was going to be holding him in high esteem as a person too.

"I've been taken off the active Jonin missions for the next two weeks to whip my cute little genin into shape, but after that I might be called up for an A rank mission that you can't follow me on right now. I will however, find you someone to look after your training while I'm gone, so no slacking off, nee?"

Still smiling, I nodded, getting to my feet and offering Kakashi my most respectful bow.

"I look forwards to working with you Kakashi-sensei."

 

Now that I think on it, we probably made the most comical sight those first two weeks, because wherever Kakashi went, I followed after him like a little yellow and orange shadow. Or puppy. One of the two. Regardless, for that first fortnight, it was hard to find one of us without the other. I trailed after Kakashi without even bothering with stealth.

I think the only reason Kakashi didn't tell me off for it was because he clocked the suddenly fearful looks of the citizens who'd been mean to me, as they realized the little girl they'd been picking on was suddenly allowed to fight back.

It was a well known law that any fight started with a ninja, any attack upon them, granted them free rein to finish that fight and walk away without any punishment. Which meant should a civilian try to attack me now, I was well within my rights to defend myself. Just like how I could actually be locked up in prison should I attack a civilian unprovoked now.

Unlikely.

The first two weeks we did nothing but train, and train hard. Kakashi even had me assemble my own camping site and hunt for my own food while he acted as the client for forty eight hours, though I was pretty sure that was only because he managed to swindle two days worth of free food off my own hunting efforts. Apparently I was a good enough cook, because he informed me that would be my job when we started up with the C ranks, which, thanks to my perversion of the shadow clone jutsu, would be sooner rather than later. I was progressing much faster than I'd dared to imagine, and I didn't have any plans to slow down soon. While Kakashi worked my real body in taijutsu, building up my speed, strength and stamina, he taught a group of my clones the different steps to a new jutsu or chakra control technique at the same time.

It'd been a brilliant fortnight, I'd loved every second of it, even the two am wakeup call that Kakashi had insisted upon, citing that a ninja must be alert at all hours, even when sleeping. I'd rigged my window to fire orange paint at the next intruder after that, though I doubted it would ever actually hit Kakashi. Most likely it'd get whatever ANBU newbie showed up next, or an even stupider ninja that would attempt to harm me again. Not that they'd ever gotten past the ANBU before, but who knows?

 

Of course, after that we fell into what I now consider our usual routine. We ran missions, I'd graduated from D rank missions to C rank within the first two weeks.

Unlike with the original Team Seven, who I still dearly hoped would reform, Kakashi hadn't been out of the ANBU long. If I remember correctly, he'd have been pulled right off is original team in order to take me under his wing. The ramifications that this could have would always send my stomach churning, so I try my best to ignore it.

Kakashi was still running missions on his own, and during those times I was usually foisted off on another Jonin, usually one of those that Kakashi had personally attended the academy with, regardless of the short amount of time he'd spent there. I learnt.

There was little else to do other than continue to expand my many fields of knowledge. I had clones working on recreating pasta here, real Italian pasta that I had a rough idea of how to make but hadn't quite managed it yet. Pizza had been so much easier to figure out in all honesty.

Time had passed, and soon enough May was upon us and it was five months until my eighth birthday.

Being young again sucks. I could appreciate the male gender still, what with my adult mind. But I'd not be able to act on it for another eight years. It was going to be a long and painful wait.

One of Kakashi's ANBU teammates, who's name I didn't know, had casually commented on the fact I quite clearly had a crush on Kakashi within earshot of the both of us. Our cheeks had burned at the same rate, but while Kakashi had looked horror-struck, I'd just shrugged nonchalantly. My reply had been simple.

'Kakashi-sensei is an impressively strong ninja, easy enough to get along with once you get past his quirks and physically fit. That kind of thing is appealing to girls of any age, so is it hardly a surprise? I'll grow out of it given time'.

Difficult, because my mental age was the same as Kakashi's physical age, so I'd probably be waiting till sixteen/seventeen at the earliest before I began dating. Because trying something like that, with anyone younger than that, felt like an excruciatingly big no-no.

Kakashi had given me a weird look, but nothing more had been said on the topic and I was pretty sure he'd forcibly forgotten about it. I wasn't going to dwell on it, seeing as today was going to be a big day for me.

After seventh months under Kakashi's command, his constant, brutal training, he'd decided now was the time to check my compatibility for a B ranked mission. Unusual, but he said that at my age he'd been running B-ranks with his own sensei, so it was time to see how I would.

Hence why we were on our way to the Hokage, seeing as we had requested another Chũnin or Jonin level nin to accompany us, just in case.

 

Entering the Hokage Tower, I let a small smile slip onto my face as the receptionist offered a nod of greeting. I'd gotten on much better terms with the woman after presenting her with a much more comfortable chair than her previous one. Clone made of course. If you hadn't guessed by now, I was more than willing to abuse them to my advantage.

Following after my much beloved sensei, I reflected back on how far we'd come in our working relationship.

Before, at the start of my apprenticeship, Kakashi had seemed, well, apprehensive. About everything. Oh, I couldn't physically see it, his body gave no tells, nor did his voice hold any emotion other than what he consciously chose. But I could feel it, for lack of better description. It was hard work, slowly unravelling the shields he'd placed around himself. Or rather, worming my way past them, seeing as they seemed to still remained in place regardless of how I now felt closer to my sensei.

It'd taken two months until he started accepting my invitations to come over for dinner, and just last month he'd actually treated me to ramen at Ichiruka's.

Kakashi was socially stunted. It shouldn't have been as big of a surprise at it apparently was. Yet, I still had to think, had to mull over the fact that my sensei had become a legal adult at five. Had probably killed his first person somewhere around that age too, considering the fact they'd been between wars and tensions had been running high. He wanted to keep his teammates alive, but he didn't want to keep them close. Emotionally that was. He didn't want to get hurt again.

But I was determined.

We would have a close relationship, because if my father had lived, I was pretty sure that he'd have been something like a big brother to me. And after living the lonely orphan life as I had been doing these past few months, I was desperately in need of some affection, of an older role model I could rely on. The Hokage was all well and good, but he had a village to look after. Kakashi was already my sensei and already responsible for me, mainly my physical well being, but emotional could, would eventually, crop up too.

I just needed to make him see that.

"Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto, reporting for B-rank briefing and third team member."

Snapping to attention, I bowed regardless of Kakashi's lacklustre introduction. The Third smiled back at us and I gave a hesitant grin back.

"Good morning Kakashi, Naruto-chan. Your third team-member should be here shortly. Naruto, let me first make everything clear. This mission is to assess you for approval to take part in future B-rank missions. You will be leading the operation and Kakashi will only step in if there is a threat to the completion of the mission or a threat to the wellbeing of the team. Understood?"

This was a lot of responsibility to give a seven year old. But then again, Kakashi had been Chũnin by six, capable of leading his own missions. With my adult brain, I should most certainly be able to get this done right. I hoped.

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"Ah, here he is now."

Looking up as the door opened behind us, I twisted to get a better look at the other ninja that I would have under my command. And then stopped. I'd completely forgotten about the Uchiha Clan, about the massacre that would occur. Dear god, could I prevent that? Should I?

No, what a stupid question. I had to try at the very least, allowing everyone to be killed because of blatant prejudice was wrong. So yes, that was my next little project for my clones to work on while I was gone. Even if I could only leave ten by Kakashi's command.

"Nice to meet you Uchiha-sempai." Offering the older boy a bow, I looked back up and assessed him.

Dressed in the standard Konoha-nin uniform, thus matching both myself and Kakashi, the Uchiha before me had short, unkempt hair in a reasonably dark shade, his eyelashes well-defined and turning upwards at each end. He was clearly well versed in the use of a tantō, seeing as he had a worn, but clearly well cared for harness strapped across his chest.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto and this is my sensei, Hatake Kakashi."

"Nice to meet you too kiddo. The name's Uchiha Shisui and I'll be teaming up with the both of you for your mission assessment." Oh.

 

The B-rank mission we'd been assigned was to personally removed the Yakuza from a town three days travel away from Konoha. They'd become a noted threat to the village's economics and were to be removed as a result. The Intel that we had suggested that missing nin from Iwa had been accepted into the ranks, hence it's state as a B-rank mission. The missing nins however, had all ranked lower than Chũnin in level, which was the reason we'd been allowed to run this mission.

I didn't have much of a problem with the idea of having to kill on this mission. I knew I'd probably feel very different about such a think when I actually had to take the life, but I'd worry about that when I got there, when I was put in that situation.

The first time we stopped for camp, I sat by the smokeless fire we'd created and ran a hand through my hair.

"I assume the uncomfortable feeling of bossing your elder around will pass with time sensei?" Looking up at the silver haired man questioningly, I clocked Shisui grinning slightly from the corner of my eye and fought to keep the smile off of my own face.

"Maa, I never had a problem with it Kaichō-chan."

After learning about my not quite illegal ring of underground merchants, Kakashi had taken to calling me Kaichō -meaning boss- every so often. And with me now in charge, that seemed to fit.

Shisui raised an eyebrow at the nickname but I grimaced and pushed onwards. I was fully aware that the Uchiha police had gotten complaints from the merchants that said someone else was stealing the business, and I had no desire to bring the full force of the military police down upon my head.

Best Shisui not know about my questionable hobby.

"Okay, then can I get an brief overview of your skills Uchiha-sempai, with specific focus on anything that will aid this mission and its completion?"

I already knew a great deal of Kakashi's, which could be summed up as 'good t everything' with special focus on ninjutsu awesomeness. But Shisui, I didn't know much of anything off the top of my head, other than he was known for his mastery over the body flicker technique and that his Sharingan could get into and control the mind of the enemy. Though I was pretty sure the latter wasn't common knowledge.

"You can call me Shisui, Kaichō-chan."

Scowling at the use of my nickname and rolling my eyes when Shisui sent Kakashi's mirthful, shaking form a look of suspicious confusion, I nodded and gestured for the teen to continue.

"I'm well known for my mastery of the body flicker technique, my genjutsus are strong even for a Uchiha, and while I have the usual Uchiha affinity for fire my secondary element is wind, which is quite rare."

Nodding, I ran a hand through my bangs, ruffling them and noting that they'd grown an inch or so past my chin. They'd need trimming soon.

"Thank you Shisui-sempai. Am I right in assuming that you've working with Kakashi-sensei before?" At the Uchiha's confirmation, I ploughed onwards.

"Okay, then let's talk about me. I'm very, very good with shadow clones and can make about a thousand right now. But obviously that's not great for stealth. I'm very good with henge too I can manage all sorts of objects and animals. My primary element is wind, while my secondary is water, though I only have three jutsus for that. I'm obviously the least skilled of all of us here, but I'm determined and will gladly fight to the death for my teammates and those who live in my village. Buildings can be remade, people cannot. Thank you for accepting to come on this mission with me."

I'd grown, through my training with Kakashi. I'd been to the hospital in my spare time and seen some of the wounds ninja could come back with, I'd helped out veterans of the shinobi wars on some of my D-rank missions. I'd seen what my life choices could lead to, if I was unlucky and wasn't able to follow the script.

So for Shisui to come along on the B-rank mission of a newbie, well it was a show of respect or trust, one of the two. Probably respect, because trust is almost nonexistent outside of the bond between teammates.

"No problem Naruto-chan."

 

We completed the mission with no problems. I led us through a successful infiltration, we killed off the missing nin, Kakashi sealing the heads to be brought back to Konoha and the bounties upon them given out depending on which one of us killed them.

I'd slit the throat of a man that was of genin skill level.

I'd thrown up afterwards, shaking and teary eyed. Kakashi and Shisui had watched sympathetically for a few seconds, before they had to dive back into the fray. As much as I had wanted to remain curled up useless, I just couldn't. This was my mission, and I needed to keep going.

I took four lives that day, though I suspected the number would have been higher had Kakashi and Shisui not gone out of their way to make sure they killed as many, as quickly as possible. They were ruthless when the situation called for it. Everything went fine.

Or rather, everything had been going fine until one of my clones back home had popped when we were still a day's travel away from the village.

I'd stumbled in our run, only just managing to catch myself on a lower branch from where we'd been tree-hopping.

"Naruto?"

"The village is on lock-down Kakashi-sensei!"

Before I knew it, I'd been snatched up and thrown over a shoulder as if I were nothing more than a bō  staff as Kakashi and Shisui took off. I thought I'd been doing well before, setting a good pace even if I had pushed myself.

I was wrong.

Kakashi and Shisui were so much faster than me I could barely comprehend it. The dash from our previous location to the village, which should have taken a day at what was apparently C-ranked speed, was covered in two hours by my older teammates.

 

Kakashi didn't pay any attention to the village gates, instead shooting in through what he described as the ANBU entrance, in which our passing would be noted but we would not stopped on our mad dash to the Hokage.

Speaking of which, the ANBU were out in force, narrowing in on Kakashi, myself and Shisui, before forming a loose oval around us, acting as escorts in the five seconds it took us to reach the Hokage tower.

I felt Kakashi flare his chakra in warning to those currently occupying the office before he slide in through the hastily opened window, grip still tight on the back of my shirt even as he settled me back down on my feet.

Shakily, I remained standing only through an act of god, because my adrenaline was pumping through my veins faster than I thought possible.

"Good, the Uzumaki girl is saf- Uchiha Shisui!" There were three elders, the council if I remembered correctly, in the room with the Third. But they were all looking at Shisui as if it were a miracle that he was stood there, which clearly confused all three of us.

"Hokage-sama, one of Naruto's clones popped and informed us of a village wide lockdown, what is the emergency?"

Kakashi had knelt before the man and I hastily copied, unconsciously noting Shisui as he adopted the same pose beside the both of us. The Third looked stressed, far more stressed than I'd ever seen him before and my mind whirled, trying to figure out just what had gone wrong. We weren't under attack, Kakashi would have noticed on the way in if we were. So then, what was it?

The man that ran the village hidden in the leaves gave a low sigh, his eyes worn and pooling with regret.

The next words froze my heart.

"Two hours ago, it was discovered that Uchiha Itachi had massacred the entire Uchiha clan. The only surviving member was thought to be Sasuke, until your return Shisui."

NO.

I was too late, the massacred had happened, and I'd done nothing. I'd known it was coming, I'd known what was to happen in the future, I'd had information that if I'd used it could done something, anything, to change this outcome. But I'd been too late, too blinded and focused on bettering myself that I'd completely missed this as a result. What use was I if I couldn't change things for the better here with my knowledge of the future? Was I going to fail at everything I set my mind to? Was-

"Itachi.. the entire clan..."

My neck snapped up so quick it almost broke. Shisui was here. Shisui was alive. Uchiha Shisui who should have had his Sharingan stolen by Danzō and gifted the other to Itachi, and then drowned in one of the rivers of the village. But here he was, healthy and very much alive.

Dear god, I had changed something. It was my fault that Shisui was alive. Having me out of the village, the Third had used it as an excuse, sending Shisui out under the pretence that the loyal Uchiha would be protecting one of the villages greatest assets. But the massacre had happened and Shisui had lived, no doubt as the Third had planned.

 

As horrible as it sounds, I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. 


	3. Finding Out The Wrong Secert

Uchiha Shisui was many things. A genius, a highly skilled Jonin, and a bit of a flirt when it came to older women to name a few. But a cook, he was not.

Which is why two days after the massacre I'd made my way to the hospital, homemade bento in hand, to the teen who'd been on my first B-rank mission, the teen that sat vigilant by his unconscious cousin's bedside.

As a result of the massacre, Kakashi had been pulled back into ANBU duty for the next fortnight or so, thus he had given me the time off as a result. I had felt obliged to go and see the boy.

Because while Shisui may be older than me physically, he was still just a teenager. And my mind was that of an adult, I could already tell that being left out of the plans regarding the massacre, being shuffled to a side and kept safely away, had chipped at the boy's mask. I couldn't begin to imagine what the boy was going through, how he felt about the politics of the village tearing his clan apart and painting his best friend as the bad guy.

No doubt that's what Sasuke would wake up thinking, there wasn't much reason for Itachi to change from the original plan, to pivot from the storyline I knew so well.

Only now I could be sure that Danzō would never get his hands on Shisui and his eyes. As the only Uchiha on active duty, the only Uchiha in the ninja ranks now, Shisui would be watched by everyone. There would be no chance to sprit him away to a secret holding facility and steal his eyes.

So at the very least, my presence in this strange world had saved one life of an untimely death already.

Fingers crossed that I could keep that track record up.

The hospital staff watched me closely as I made my way down the corridor, but I breeze past the ANBU on duty, whom I assumed were Kakashi's squad. They were the best in the village after all.

The room that Sasuke Uchiha was housed in was clean, an airy, private infirmary wing that gave the two 'survivors' some much required privacy.

Shisui looked horrid. It'd been three days since I'd last seen him, and never before had I seen a Uchiha look so rumpled. There were thick black bags under his eyes, his lips were chapped and bleeding in parts were he'd torn the skin away with his teeth, his face pale.

Regardless of his current state though, he was still a ninja, proven when he was armed and crouched defensively over his little cousin in a movement so fast I could barely follow it.

Blinking slowly, I raised my free hand to show I was unarmed, made even more obvious by the fact I was in a simple civilian sundress.

"Naruto-chan?" Shisui slowly lowered the kunai in his hands, though I was well aware the older ninja was currently scanning my chakra, just to make sure I wasn't under a henge.

"Shisui-sempai, Hokage-sama said you'd been here a while and I know you're a terrible cook so I hope this is okay because I'm still learning and can't do much." It was a bold faced lie, what with my clones running their own stalls and selling bentos constantly. Shisui knew that too, because he gave a grim smile but never the less accepted the packed lunch that I'd made him.

"Take a seat Kaichō-chan."

Grimacing at the nickname, I hoped up into a chair beside the only occupied bed, turning my gaze upon Sasuke for the first time.

He was such a tiny thing. For years, ever since I'd woken up in this body, I'd pondered after the boy that would impact so greatly on all of the major events to come. But right now, he was just a tortured little child that'd lost almost everyone. For a moment, I wondered how Shisui's presence would affect things, if Sasuke would turn out any different now and whether or not it'd be for the better.

He was just a kid.

"I'm in charge of him now," Shisui murmured, chopsticks hovering before his face and a slice of carrot delicately balanced between the two.

My blue eyes darted up from the pale child on the bed to the one sat opposite me. And Shisui was a child, he'd be fourteen only a few days after I turned eight.

"I guessed you would be, being, well, the older Uchiha."

Shisui's answering smile was grim, his eyes worn and tired. Just a kid. Too young to be dealing with all this.

"You suck at cooking Shisui-sempai. I'll send a clone around with bentos for you both when you move back into a house."

Shisui's mouth snapped open to argue, but I just held a hand up to stop him, trying for my best stern scowl. Probably ineffective on my childish face, but the sentiment was there.

"Sleep Shisui-sempai, I'll stand watch for now, and Kakashi-sensei's squad is outside."

The older child snorted, but his drooping eyelids betrayed him. It only took another second of staring at him before Shisui caved, climbing up onto the bed with Sasuke and curling onto his side, facing the younger Uchiha.

"Thanks Naruto-chan."

 

It became a routine as soon as Sasuke left the hospital. While I never met the boy face to face, he had to at least know of me. I sent a clone -unseen- every morning that I was in the Leaf Village to the Uchiha district, armed with two bentos, one for Shisui and one for Sasuke.

The so called treachery of Itachi had a rather large impact on the village. For one, the clan heads were all hesitant to have any more children graduating early, both the Hyūga genius Neji and Sasuke himself were barred from jumping ahead of their classmates, both Kakashi and myself -known for our notoriously early graduation- were pulled into get out heads examined.

We'd passed their tests of course, I'd surprisingly enough breezed through and Kakashi had predictably gotten by on the skin of his teeth. But the fact they were checking on us at all showed how much they feared another genius snapping, another Itachi running wild.

Even if that's not what happened.

The Third was probably just taking the chance to crack down on throwing children he considered too young out into the field. I still saw the guilt in his eyes whenever Kakashi and I reported in for a B rank or higher.

We were a good pair though, we worked well together, I mostly as support, though I was slowly starting to become the frontline fighter that I was always destined for, what my mass amounts of chakra and my parents being who they were. My jutsu repertory was expanding at a steady rate, and through the power of clones my Fūinjutsu studies had really started to take off recently, to the point I was now able to hold hour long conversations with Kakashi on the topic.

But that was just it, the both of us worked very well together. And having just turned eleven, I knew what was coming up next October.

Team placements.

It hadn't really hit me until the previous day, when Kakashi had arrived at our usual meeting place with a disgruntled wrinkle upon the bridge of his nose. Or, what was visible of it.

"Gai has a team now," he'd muttered, and if possible, his look of discontent had deepened, "he wants us to meet them tomorrow at six o'clock. Training ground nine."

Which was Kakashi speak for ten o'clock. Whenever he said that someone wanted to meet at a set time, then I'd worked out the Jonin wanted me to add four hours onto the time he gave me.

Hence why I was currently crouched in a tree at seven in the morning, palming a cup of green tea between my hands and staring down at the two males in the clearing. Shisui obviously knew I was there. While I'd gotten good in the past three years that we'd known each other, the older Uchiha was more than familiar with my chakra now, and I wasn't stupid enough to try hiding it when on Uchiha territory. At least, not to a level that Shisui couldn't feel. Sasuke had no idea I was here.

I would be getting two teammates next year, like it or not. I'd have to accept that fact, and there was a very high possibility that it would be Sasuke I ended up with. Politics at play again. Sasuke needed someone to teach him how to use the Sharingan, and to place him with Shisui as a Jonin sensei would just be stupid. It'd make the team too top heavy for once, and the logistic nightmare of having both Sharingan users outside the village would have the elders suffering from heart attacks.

Which left Kakashi as the only option.

The real question was, would we still get Sakura considering that the Naruto here and now was quite obviously no longer a dead-last?

Worrying my lip between my teeth for a second, I took another sip of tea, letting the once bitter flavouring flood my mouth. I'd adapted to the taste, seeing as it was the only kind of tea Shisui had on offer whenever I popped around to see how the oldest Uchiha was doing.

Right now, he was training Sasuke in some form of advanced Uchiha fighting style, not one I'd ever seen before but then again, I'd not really worked with any other Uchihas but Shisui. And this looked too heavy hitting for my favourite dark haired ninja, considering he favoured speed over strength.

 

It was about an hour later that I got to my feet, brushing my blonde hair back from my face and scowling. I'd been growing it out ever since my first B-ranked mission, seeing as I'd been cleared for some of the more dangerous missions I considered that I was skilled enough to add a bit of length. It now fell in twin pigtails that came to rest in the middle of my shoulder blades, two streams of blonde hair.

Standing up and stretching my arms above my head, I sealed the used cup into a small storage seal that sat on the thigh of my jumpsuit, plucking up the bentos that'd been resting on the tree limb beside me for the past hour. I'd seen enough.

Sasuke was skilled, would be skilled for a genin. Hopefully we'd be able to get along better than what he had with the original Naruto.

Throwing the bentos at Shisui, I smirked slightly at the older boy caught them with ease, blocking Sasuke's twisting kick with his other  hand.

"Where did they come from?"

It'd actually been the first time I'd heard the boy speak, his black eyes flickering over to the trees that hid me from view.

"Our friendly bento fairy of course. Now, let's fix this kata of yours."

 

Kakashi was waiting for me at our usual bridge.

Leaning against the worn red railing, the older Jonin looked completely relaxed as I approached, holding the oh so familiar orange book in one hand while the other casually flipped the page in one smooth movement. Kakashi was cool. The feelings of admiration once again bubbled up in my stomach, but instead of the blush causing stomach butterflies the thought used to cause, I could now just smile through it. He'd become something of an older brother now, not that I'd ever tell him that. The crush I'd felt for him was now long gone.

Oh, I could appreciate the fact he was attractive, that much was a given. But now it was just for the pleasure of viewing, I'd not be daydreaming about somehow returning to my previous body and falling into a relationship with the man. He was so socially awkward someone would literally have to punch him in the face with their feelings for him to take note.

That didn't stop the determination I felt towards getting the man into a relationship, or at least to go on a date. I would see Kakashi happy someday. It was one of my new goals now.

"Good morning Kaichō-chan."

"Good-morning sensei. Are we going to Gai-sensei right away?"

Kakashi hummed in the back of his throat, eye never leaving the passage of his book but angling his body towards me in a clear indication that I could step closer.

"Maa, that depends, have you made dinner?"

Instead of answering verbally, I held up the two bentos that'd not been gifted to Shisui and Sasuke.

Icha Icha snapped shut in one fluid motion, Kakashi smiling and now stood up a bit straighter. Not quite out of his lazy slouch, but more attentive to the world around him now.

"Right then, to training ground nine."

 

The early days of Team Gai was most certainly a sight to behold. Neji was clearly infuriated with his teammates, looking equally disgusted by Lee and Gai's display of exuberance, while Tenten didn't look disgusted at all. I'd lean more towards traumatized in all honesty, and a bittersweet smile began to spread across my face.

How would I interact with my teammates when they came along? Would we be friends, would I be able to invite them around to dinner like I did Kakashi-sensei when the man was spending too much time with the memorial, share tea with them like I did Shisui whenever Sasuke was at the academy? I hoped we'd get along, because after being under Kakashi's guiding hand for so long,  I was used to teamwork, and I didn't want that to change.

"What do you think, Kaichō-chan?"

Looking up at Kakashi, who was crouched beside me on the tree branch, I frowned.

"Will my teammates be as... exotic?" It was the politest word I could come up with that applied to trio of new genin before me. Neji and Lee were opposite ends of the spectrum, with Tenten balance between them. And even she liked sharp and pointy objects. Had she been anything but a ninja, or maybe a blacksmith, that would've been several different levels of not good. However, she was, so all was well.

"If there is any mercy in this world, then no," Kakashi grumbled beneath his breath before leaping down onto the ground, and then casually strolling out into the training ground as if it were an everyday occurrence.

I'd done my research, Team Gai had passed Gai's test the previous day, so they'd never have met Kakashi before unless it was for all the wrong reasons.

With a little smile on my face, I followed after him, only a step behind.

"Ah! My eternal rival! You have graced us with your presence at last! You were late, I set our meeting for six and it is now ten!"

The three genin blinked as one, before breaking off into their separate reactions. Neji only just managed to stop himself from letting out an audible groan, while Tenten was unable to help herself. Lee... Well, Lee was looking at Gai as if the man could do no wrong.

"Kakashi! Meet my team, Tenten, Hyūga Neji and Rock Lee!" Gai gestured to the trio stood beside him and I watched Tenten's face burn red in embarrassment for a second before she hid her head in her hands. She was less confident then I was expecting, but then again, the girl had only been a true genin for a day, so I couldn't really say anything. And well, with the team she'd gotten, I'd probably have been embarrassed on my first day too.

"Maa, did you say something?"

Scowling at the silver haired male, I punched him in the arm, already able to feel the amusement swirling around Kakashi's form.

"Be nice sensei. It's nice to meet you, my name's Uzumaki Naruto and this is my sensei, Kakashi Hatake."

Neji's eyes had followed my movements since the second I'd made contact with Kakashi, pupil-less eyes narrowed. But he wasn't the one to speak first.

Instead, Tenten broke the silence.

"Wait, Uzumaki Naruto as in the last kid to graduate early? The first early female graduation?"

Looking up at the taller girl, I grinned, rubbing sheepishly at the back of my neck as I did so.

Normally, I wasn't so easy to embarrass. The only thing that really got me feeling sheepish was my rapidly growing, accidentally created, empire. Everything had really come to head last year, when demand outweighed supply and I'd splurged on opening a restaurant, focused on the foods that haunted me from my own life. I'd ended up hiring real people, writing cook-books and having them sent off to a publishers.

Now I was raking in the money, as was the Hokage who got twenty percent of my earnings seeing as he'd recommended me to Jiraiya's publisher. I didn't need that twenty percent, it went into funding better supplies for the academy and hospital. I already had more money than I knew what to do with.

It was a constant source of amusement for Kakashi and Shisui, who teased me endlessly. I hadn't meant for all that to happen, I'd only needed enough money to get by when I'd set the ball rolling for all of this.

Now I had clones out and about that were needed to keep track of where all the money was and what my vast army of workers, both copies of myself and now actual people, were up to.

I don't care what anyone else said, shadow clones were the most terrifying thing ever.

"Erm, yeah, that's me."

Tenten squealed, shooting forwards and offering her hand in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you Uzumaki-san, you and Tsunade-sama were my inspiration in the academy."

I blinked. Okay then. I'd not really been expecting this, for a girl older than me to have, well, looked to me as an example to follow. It was an odd thought.

"Oh, okay then."

I could feel Kakashi's amusement, I didn't even need to look at him. His next bento was going to be full of fried food. He'd deserve it, leaving me to this torture as he was.

"I felt it was best to introduce you now. Naruto-chan has been under my eternal rival's tutelage for four years now. And you'll take it in turns to spar with her! Show your youth!"

And at that valiant cry, Gai set me up against Lee.

 

I took the dark haired boy down with ease, Tenten soon following. I hadn't realized how far ahead I was, how far Kakashi had pushed me and how much I improved until I was going against children my own age. Or close enough.

Regardless, this was how I would have been, back when I graduated.

"Okay Neji! You're next up!"

Looking at the dark haired boy that approached, I adjusted my resting stance to something that would allow for a bit more movement. Compared to the other two, Neji was a different beast altogether. His gentle fist made him dangerous, even more so when his genius mind was taken into consideration. But I was running A-ranks with Kakashi now, I could do this. Neji wouldn't go for sneak attacks, right now it wasn't in his nature, he was too proud for that. But that didn't mean he couldn't surprise me. I had to be ready for anything.

"Begin!"

The other genin came towards me at a much faster rate than the other two had, but that was to be expected. He was rookie of the year after all. We came together in a clash of limbs, Neji going low with a gentle fist paralyse shot for my right leg, but I managed to hook his arm and twist it away, keeping the fingers far from my limbs. From his reliance on his hands, I guess he hasn't learn to push his chakra out through the rest of his skin. Good, that meant this would be an easier win for me.

Luckily, I was right.

 

"The Hyūga boy has a crush on you." I choked on my drink.

A week had passed since we'd first met with Team Gai, and both myself and Kakashi were walking to the Hokage's office to pick up our next mission. Of course, I'd just been taking a sip of tea from my flask when Kakashi decided to part some of his infinite wisdom upon me.

"He doesn't know how to handle it though, seeing as he'd now determined to beat you in a spar. Or at least, that's what Gai said. Expect your pigtails pulled Kaichō-chan."

Grimacing at the thought, I ran a hand through a tail of blonde hair while the other clutched my flask a bit tighter. Well, this could make things quite awkward in the future.

I didn't know how to deal with something like this, being the demon brat had seen all the other children kept away from me until now, so there'd never really been any time for a childish crush to be formed with me at the centre. This was a new experience and I did not like it. Not knowing what to do about it that was.

The fact someone had a crush on me was quite flattering actually, but reacting to it would be a different ball game altogether.

I didn't dare tease Kakashi about anyone having a crush on him though, because though my memory was slowly becoming hazy, I was pretty sure it was his dead teammate that'd been crushing on him. And I wasn't about to cause him pain by bringing that little detail up.

Walking down the corridor of the Hokage tower, the both of us nearly missed a step as we rounded the corner to find the source of our conversation stood before the Hokage's desk. Gai was grinning from ear to ear, while the three genin around him seemed somewhat depressed.

"Good morning my eternal rival! Are you here to accept a mission too?"

The Hokage raised a brow at the two of us and I quickly bowed. I'd gained a bit of a reputation for being somewhat polite for an orphan, an image I was more than happy to keep up in all honesty.

"Naruto-san! It is good to see you this morning."

Sheepishly rubbing at the back of my neck, I offered Lee a nod of acknowledgement.

"Good morning to you too Lee-san."

"Okay then Kakashi, what kind of mission can I get you?"

"I was thinking a nice, juicy A-rank for today."

I hadn't been on too many A-rank, having only just taken to running them with Kakashi in the past year and a half. Most of the things that he was sent off on were the kind I couldn't really follow, assassinations that we couldn't afford to mess up, the chances of that happening were much higher with two people instead of one. But there were some A-rank missions that I did get to go on.

"A-rank missing nin Kaibara Matsu of Iwa has been spotted in the town of Asahama, about two days north of here. I want him captured or killed."

Nodding, I accepted the scroll as Kakashi ran a hand through his spiky locks.

"Accepted Hokage-sama. Naruto, we leave in thirty minutes. Northern gate."

"And for you Team Gai, I'm afraid Tora has escaped again."

 

Kakashi had disappeared off to his apartment to go and retrieve his pack, but I'd taken to carrying everything I could possibly need with me in a storage scroll, hidden away in a secret pocket in my baggy trousers. So I'd leisurely make my way to the gate in my own time, even if that did mean walking out the building with Gai and his team.

"So youthful Naruto-chan! Good luck on your A-rank mission! I shall do ten thousand laps around Konoha before your return, and if I fail, then twenty thousand push-ups!"

Forcing a grin onto my face, I turned to look at the three genin that were trailing after their sensei, only to notice Neji's eyes were focused on me.

"Hyūga-san?"

"Uzumaki, when you return, may we spar again?"

Blinking, I turned to look at Gai, who much like Lee, was giving me the thumbs up behind Neji's back. While Tenten was grinning wildly. It was an expression that all female could manage, a 'oh, he's interested in you, you gonna say yes?' kind of expression.

"Of course Hyūga-san. And you can call me Naruto. See ya." Leaping upwards in a chakra powered jump, I landed easily on the nearest roof and took off, heading towards the village gates with my thoughts spinning about rapidly in my head. So, maybe Gai was more observant then I'd ever given him credit for.

Kakashi was never going to let me live this down.

 

The town of Asahama was a sleepy one, only just big enough to have graduated from village status in all honesty. My ears burned with shame when, upon passing a bookstore, I noticed it was my recipe book on display in the window. Kakashi had laughed, until I'd demanded a piggyback and crawled up his torso in order to get what I wanted.

We were posing as a brother and sister duo; I'd gone so far as to throw coloured chalk into my hair until it was the same silver as my sensei's.

Kaibara was said to still be in the area, supposedly terrorising the town by refusing to allow any tradesmen in. Which meant fresh produce wasn't getting into the town, and thus, the people were beginning to starve. They only had so many crops to feed themselves with, and they were rapidly running out.

The worst thing was that they couldn't kick Kaibara out of their town, considering he was an A-ranked missing nin for a reason. Hell, the only reason he probably wasn't in the up and coming -though no one else knew about them- Akatsuki was because he just fell short of the S-rank requirements.

At that thought, my heart ached slightly, mind turning to Itachi. He was one of the ones I wanted to save. He'd done so much for the village, saved so many lives by sacrificing his family, pretty much giving up his own life in order to see to the safety of the village and the safety of Sasuke. I looked up to him.

Not that I'd ever admit that aloud until the truth came out.

"Which house does Uncle live at again?"

Tilting my head to a side from where it was resting on Kakashi's shoulder, I had to force myself not to grin. I was still not quite brilliant at this undercover business, never had been good at acting in all honesty. Uncle was of course the codeword for our dear target.

Kaibara would hold Iwa secrets, and regardless of the fact it was village protocol to update all security when a B-rank ninja or above defected and wasn't caught, he'd still have information that could be helpful. Hence why our first priority was to capture the man. We were only to kill if he got too out of hand, or if capture was impossible.

Asahama was a village in Fire country after all, and thus, under Konoha's protection.

 

Walking down the main street of town, I could pinpoint the exact second when both myself and Kakashi realized our mission was over before it had really began. With our enchanted senses, Kakashi's through the dog contract and my own through the Kyuubi sealed inside my stomach, we both picked upon the scent of blood, copious amounts of blood, at the same time.

The coppery scent had become uncomforting familiar as my career of being a ninja continued onwards, I could pick it up even mixed in with as many other scents as it was.

Kakashi too, for his carefully placed my on the ground and began walking towards the source. I followed after him cautiously. We didn't draw a weapon yet, but our hands were strategically placed so that should we need them, our reaction times would be as short as humanly possible.

"Stay close Naruto."

Nodding, I pushed chakra down into my feet, coating the soles of my shoes so that my footsteps would remain soundless.

We didn't even need to go into the house though, because walking out of the door were a trio of Iwa ninjas, one holding a black scroll.

I'd made many a black scroll ever since the Hokage found out about my budding Fūinjutsu talents. Black scrolls were body storage, and judging by these men, they were hunter nins. Only Kaibara's head would be present in there to act as proof, the rest of the body destroyed of all the village secrets it carried.

Upon noticing the others, we all seemed to stop for a second, sizing one another up. And then, the centre Iwa ninja spat on the ground, face ferocious as he looked at Kakashi.

"Hatake. Doesn't surprise me that scum like you would be attempting to meet up with Kaibara."

Beside me, Kakashi gave a low shrug, pocketing one hand. But his body was angled in such a way that he could defend me in a split second. This was no friendly meeting, this was no game here.

If I remembered correctly, Kakashi had been a big of a pain in Iwa's side during the Third war. It'd been his team that got the turning point mission, he who'd led that mission as a Jonin. And while Kakashi considered that mission a personal failure due to Obito's death, the objective had been reached. It'd been the first failure of many of Iwa, on that slippery slide that led to them losing the war.

It shouldn't surprise me that they had a bone to pick with my sensei, but a childish part of me had been hoping that the cycle of hatred hadn't run its course once again.

"Kaibara was terrorizing this town, the object of the mission was to remove the threat to Konoha's safety."

Another Iwa shinobi spat on the ground at Kakashi's words, his eyes drifting over to look at me.

"And he's got a brat with him. Konoha still throwing their brats out onto the battlefield I see."

The change in pace came in a split second. One moment it was just tense talking, the next, Kakashi and I were blocking a hail of shuriken with kunais in hand.

"You killed my brother in the last war Hatake! I'm going to enjoy making you bleed!"

I leapt back as the final Iwa shinobi came at me, the other two turning on Kakashi. I was on my own. These three had been strong enough to take down an A-rank ninja, Kakashi would have his hands full with two of them. Which meant it was all on me to deal with this one.

As we, Konoha shinobi, had been attacked in what was acknowledged as Leaf territory, it was well within our legal rights to kill the enemy. And that's what I was going to have to aim for. If I didn't aim to kill, then I was as good as dead. No other option but to go all out.

Hand shooting into my of my pockets, I pulled out the sealing tag, crouching low and slapping it on the ground in the same moment I spun on my hand, changing my momentum until I was shooting off to the left instead of heading backwards. The tag glowed blue for a second before pulsing outwards, drawing in as much chakra as it could of those too close to it.

This had been a clone invention.

I had originally been aiming of a way to store chakra up so that when exhausted, it could be drawn on to replenish the reserves at a much quicker, stable rate. All for Kakashi, who I knew would collapse should he use his Sharingan for too long.

Instead, this had come about, a seal that in one pulse, would draw chakra from a person in regards to how close one stood to it. The Iwa nin had probably just lost half of his reserve.

The only problem with the chakra storage seal was that it was unstable, and after that first pulse, it turned into a chakra bomb, waiting to blow.

"Little bitch," the Iwa nin snarled, running through hand-seals at an alarmingly fast rate. Not too fast for me to not recognise them, but I couldn't think of the jutsu that would be aimed at me now. Earth was most likely, so I braced myself for a jump.

"Earth Release; Earth Spikes!"

Swearing under my breath, I leapt to a side, rolling and then diving to the right as spear after spear of hard packed earth landed where I'd been but a second ago. They were erupting from the ground around my enemy, striking the ground at a rate that was far too quick for me to be comfortable with. My hands flashed through a series of seals.

"Wind Release; Great Breakthrough!" It was little more than a distraction technique, strong enough to throw the Iwa nin to the ground if he didn't put all his concentration into staying standing. Which gave me enough time to form of signature handseal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I aimed for two hundred, and that was the number I got, give or take a dozen.

The enemy snorted in surprise, but was quick to react, sending earth jutsus flying around the clearing and popping each body in quick succession. But that wasn't what I was focused on, the clones weren't the ones aiming for the kill. Instead, they were just herding my opponent towards a somewhat forgotten tag.

The second he was close enough, my hands came together in the tiger seal and I sent out a pulse of chakra.

"Boom." And boom did it go.

The chakra storage seal blew up magnificently, no doubt taking the Iwa ninja with it. He'd underestimated me, gotten too close to a seal that he'd thought to have finished its design, never suspecting there was secondary level behind it. I can see now, why Minato had been so feared on the battle field, even then he'd only been using one Fūinjutsu seal, and he was said to have been a Fūinjutsu master.

Just imagining the devastation he could have spread across the nations made me shudder slightly.

 

"Unkei!" The desperate cry of one of the Iwa nin that Kakashi was fighting had my head snapping up, turning to look at the other battle as rain began pouring from the sky.

No wait, not rain.

It was water, I had to have hit an underground reservoir with my seal.

The other Iwa ninja was glaring at me with a look of fury, before something suddenly seemed to click into place within his brain and his eyes went from burning anger to cold, dead hatred.

The sudden change took me aback more than I would have liked to have said, and it was only in an inattentive state of mind that I clocked one of my pigtails had fallen out during my fight. I needed sturdier hair bands.

"Namikaze." The pure malice that seethed through the Iwa ninja's voice was what caught my attention at first, but then my stomach turned to lead as I registered the word.

Namikaze.

As in, Namikaze Minato. I'd only used one seal in my fight, how could he have- a strand of blonde hair drifted across my vision and I cringed.

The hair chalk. It'd run out in the water.

What a stupid decision. I'd gone with the chalk because it'd be easier to rid myself of the disguise when we got back. Damn it. Coupled with the fact I was travelling with the Fourth's only living student, it was a dead giveaway now. My face shape was the same, my bangs still the same length and my colouring was like an obnoxious beacon.

Kakashi was in front of my instantly, Sharingan blazing and deflecting a blow from the nin that would have killed me had he not.

Twisting to a side, I dodged the second attempt on my life, lashing out with a kunai and only just able to duck the sword that almost took off my head. Kakashi was busy with the one who'd recognised my parentage, but both Iwa nin were throwing out so much murderous intent that it wouldn't surprise me if the Hokage could feel it back in the Leaf Village.

I heard Kakashi give out a low hiss and I snapped my head to look at him, catching the blood trickling down the side of his arm from where it'd been impaled with a kunai.

Right before something tore through my ribs, tore right though my lung.

My body gave an instinctive gasp and pain ruptured through me, tears springing from my eyes and a scream leaving between my lips.

"It's a good thing we found you this early, any longer and you'd have gotten too strong to stop."

My vision was overtaken with black dots and I barely caught the snarled words over the sound of a thousand chirping birds.

  
When I woke up again, I was in a sewer. Nothing hurt, everything felt fine as I slowly pushed myself up onto my feet, half expecting utter anguish to tear through my torso if I moved too quickly. But it didn't. there was no injury, there was no pain to stop me from moving.

Cautiously, I reached for a kunai from my back pouch, absentmindedly noting that I was running low after that battle with the Iwa ninjas.

How had it ended, how had I ended up here? Where was Kakashi? Panic raced through me.

 Where was Kakashi?!

Head snapping back and forth, I stopped at the sight to my left, only just able to keep my worry about Kakashi in my mind. Large gates, stretching taller than I cared to take note of, were sealed up tight before me. A thin piece of paper sat at the entranceway, the kanji for 'seal' it's only decoration.

" **You runt. You  are weak! You can't save him can you? Come here, tear off the seal, and I shall grant you the power to kill all those that would dare harm you.** "

The deep, growling voice that echoed through the room jolted me back into full awareness.

" **Come closer...** "

I did, and then had to leap back as a huge claw landed where I'd been stood a second ago.

" **Brat! What are you here for!** "

Shaking slightly, and unafraid to admit to the fact I was very much scare of the situation I was in, I stared into the bars, at the two big red eyes that glared back out at me. Kakashi. Kakashi was fighting two Iwa nin and I was injured, possibly fatally. He'd be protecting my dying body, for I wasn't quite dead yet, and he couldn't fight those people while doing that.

"Please, please help me save Kakashi!" Warm breath coiled around my figure as the Nine-Tails snorted, blinking those brilliant crimson eyes ever so slowly.

" **And why, brat, should I help you?!** "

"Please! Please, even you must have had someone that you'd protect at the cost of your life?! He's going to die if I don't get back up! Please!"

There was pause, in the silence I noted the wet trails that streamed down my face to originate from my eyes. Tears. I hadn't really cried at all since I found out I'd been dropped into this body, hadn't had any need to. But one of my precious people was facing death if I didn't help, if he was forced to keep looking after my too weak, too feeble self.

"Please help me."

Burning.

Something was burning me up inside and I opened my mouth to scream but was drowning on something too. Blood, there was blood in my mouth.

My vision went red.

 

* * *

 

 

Naruto was down. There was a kunai sticking out from her ribs, an Iwa nin stood over her and Kakashi couldn't breathe.

It was Rin, Obito, Sensei all over again.

He didn't even think as he drove the Chidori into the enemy, Sharingan memorizing the way the blood decorated the floor.

All that matter was that Naruto was dying before him, blood pooling around her torso and scarlet liquid trickling out the corner of her mouth. She was dying and it was happening again.

Only, he wasn't going to be too slow this time, too little anything. He'd save her. He would, she couldn't be dead. He wouldn't allow it.

Charging the last living Iwa nin, Kakashi's fist slammed into the man's stomach and sent him flying back and far away from Naruto's too vulnerable body.

Before he could kneel down though, before he could start assessing the situation, something began to coil in the air.

There was a sizzling sound, and it took Kakashi a second to realize it was coming from Naruto. The air was heavy, pressing down on his shoulders with far more malice than what any of the Iwa nin had ever been able to produce. He'd only ever felt it once, only once eleven years ago.

No.

She wasn't dead yet. The Kyuubi wasn't allowed to reform because Naruto wasn't dead.

His desperate pleas were proven correct when Naruto got up. The wound was long gone, only the bloodied kunai lying on the ground any indication that she had been injured, fatally injured, at all. That wasn't what worried him though. It was the red chakra pumping out of her body, forming a fanged fox face above her head that did.

In all the years that he'd been teaching her, not once had the fox presented itself as a problem.

And now, even though it'd killed his sensei, he was thankful for its presence because the beast had saved Naruto's life. Oh, surely it was in its own interest, but Naruto now lived, and that was all that matter.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's gaze was on him, eyes squinting, irises red and pupils slits. It looked like she was trying very hard to concentrate, like it'd taken a lot of effort to even speak those words.

Then she spotted the Iwa nin and everything fell apart.

Naruto lost it to animalistic fury, throwing herself forwards at the startled Iwa nin, who judging from his fearful look, knew exactly what the red chakra was, where it came from.

Between the two of them, it was over in seconds. Naruto moved faster than he'd ever seen her do before, but her finesse was gone. She was pure rage, base instincts and preferred to run on all four instead of her legs.

 Regardless, she managed to distract the Iwa nin at the right moment for him to plough another Chidori through his chest.

"His o-own child-d-" the Iwa nin's words were cut off as blood gurgled up and out of his throat. The scent of death was heavy in the air, and Kakashi turned his attention to Naruto.

There was a look on Naruto's face that he didn't like as she stood there, watching the enemy die. He hoped it was the foxes influence, hoped that it was reversible.

He was only just quick enough to knock her out with a chop to the back of her neck. He needed to speak to the Hokage, now.

Naruto was a smart girl, she'd be able to put together the fact an Iwa nin had called her a Namikaze with just who the Fourth was. She was quickly becoming a Fūinjutsu specialist too, no doubt if she looked into the red chakra that had aided her in battle, she'd put the pieces together. She'd figure out she was a Jinchuriki.

Two S-ranked secrets blown in one mission.

Picking up the body scroll of Kaibara, who was so much more trouble in death than he had been in life, Kakashi looked down at his unconscious student with a sigh. Through the ripped material of her jacket he could see the entrance point of the kunai that'd sliced through her back.

Or rather, the new scar tissue that was the only indication of what had happened.

Yeah, he needed to talk to the Hokage.

 

* * *

 

 

By the time I woke up, we were already back in Konoha.

Having never been unconscious for so long before, my first reaction was of course panic. My chest had seized up as if something had suddenly coiled around my lungs and was now refusing to let go.

"Calm down Naruto."

Head snapped to the source of the voice, I relaxed at the sight of Kakashi. Surprisingly enough, Shisui was stood beside him, looking somewhere between anxious and relieved.

My eyes flickered over Kakashi's form, but he seemed completely fine. Even the cut I'd seen on his arm before I'd gotten injured was gone. We were back in Konoha, we were safe.

"Do you remember what happened Naruto?"

Looking back at Kakashi, taking in the seriousness of his posture, the sternness of his voice, I cast my mind back, trying to recall all that'd happened.

"We went to Asahama to either retrieve Kaibara or kill him. He was already dead and three Iwa nin attacked us. I killed one with a chakra pulse storage seal, unearthing an underground reservoir in the process. He-He called me Namikaze and then I got stabbed through the chest. I think it pierced a lung. I was unconscious, met with the Nine-Tails and then burning. That's it."

There was quiet for a few moments as I digested my words, wondering how to play this. I'd already come to the conclusion that at the level I was now regarding Fūinjutsu, it was obvious I'd be able to recognise a Jinchuriki seal. I'd just not have questioned anyone about it because it was so obviously a secret that had to be kept. Kakashi knew I was intelligent enough to do so.

"Naruto. Did you just say you met the Nine-Tails?"

At my shallow nod, Kakashi sighed running a hand through his hair.

"How long have you known?"

"A year. I recognised the components of the seal. I haven't touched it, obviously, but I figured it was a secret in the village and I'd have to respect that... Namikaze was the Fourth's clan name."

Kakashi winced, but slowly nodded. Beside him, Shisui's face was stone cold, but over what, I couldn't tell.

"He's my father, isn't he? It all adds up, the dates, why I of all the other children would be the Jinchuriki, why you want to be my sensei... And it's a secret too, isn't it?"

"S-rank. Both that and the fact you are the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. I couldn't tell you. The Third was waiting until we formed Team Seven before he told you. It needs to stay a secret Naruto."

Nodding, I took hold of the glass of water by my bed-side, slowly necking the liquid until there was none left.

"Okay..." Twitching in my bed, I looked up at the two males stood before me. I'd run a good few missions with Shisui after that first one, but never as many as I had with Kakashi. Out of everyone in the village, I trusted these two the most, I trusted them to have my back. It seemed like a big step to take.

In a voice smaller than what I'd ever thought myself capable of producing, I turned my eyes on the silver haired male.

"C-can I have a hug please?"

Kakashi complied, but looked distinctly uncomfortable. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough.

Kakashi wouldn't abandoned me.

I'd probably scared him to death, almost dying as I had, but hopefully he'd get it through his thick skull that people could pull through now.

The second that Kakashi stood back, Shisui was there, throwing one arm over my shoulder and pulling me into his side as he dropped down onto the bed.

"We'll both look after you kiddo. Fox face doesn't matter to me. I've just got to make sure that you get strong enough to look after yourself."

"Thank you Shisui-sempai."

 

It was just as the two were leaving that Kakashi informed me that we'd be starting training as soon as I was outside of hospital again.

Which, unfortunately, wouldn't be until the next day at the very earliest. The head medic wanted me under observation, to make sure that the Kyuubi's rapid healing hadn't had any negative effect on my body.

While Kakashi had left me there with nothing to read, Shisui had actually been kind enough to fetch my Fūinjutsu Research journal, so at least I had something to do. Even if I wasn't allowed to actively use my chakra, I could work on my ideas, could focus on the pros and cons of the chakra pulse storage seal and try to figure out how to better improve it.

Or rather, make my original idea work at all.

 

It wasn't until about six in the evening that I got my first visitor that wasn't part of the interrogation squad.

"Good Evening Naruto-chan!" Team Gai were stood at the door.

Sat in a hospital gown as I was, curled up around the dinner tray the hospital staff, I fought back a grin. It felt good to have people visiting. To have people that cared.

"Hello, are you here to visit me?" Closing my journal, I shuffled it over to a side and sat upright, pushing what remained of my yucky hospital food to a side. I'd have to see about making another deal with the Hokage, another ten percent of my book profits in exchange for him looking into fixing the hospital food.

"We heard you were injured Naruto-san, and so we have come to lift your spirits!" Lee grinned wildly, darting into the room an taking a seat by my bedside. Neji and Tenten followed at  a more subdued pace, but nevertheless to a seat while Gai stood behind them.

"My eternal rival informs me that you were ambushed by a trio of Iwa nin, and that you managed to valiantly fight them off, though not without injury to yourself."

I nodded.

My fellow genin seemed a lot more interested now, more focused on what I was saying, so I went over the basics that I was allowed to tell.

Apparently, there was also hospital protocol for B-ranks and above. I'd just never been informed because it was my first time being in hospital with a serious injury. Our commanding officer would meet with the Hokage, inform him of the events that took place, and then the injured party would find themselves being told what they could and could not speak about.

The latter obviously referring to the duo of S-ranked secrets that'd been blown on that mission.

It was lucky it had been just myself and Kakashi, both of whom already knew the truth. Only Kakashi didn't know that I'd known before.

"-so I should be out of hospital in a few days, so we can spar next week?" I was addressing Neji with my last question and the long haired genin somehow managed to nod solemnly while looking eager to have our rematch.

"Yosh! Naruto-san! Please spar with me too."

"As soon as I'm cleared Lee-san."

I was healthy already though. I didn't need to stay in hospital, the only thing that'd stopped me from leaving was Kakashi asking me to wait for the all clear. I didn't like sitting around, not doing anything, not using chakra. I was healed already. The Nine-Tails had seen to that.

Pausing at that thought, I waved goodbye to Team Gai in a manner that screamed I was preoccupied with an idea.

Lifting up the hospital shirt until I could see my stomach, I sent a pulse of chakra towards my belly button, watching as the dark markings of my seal effloresced into existence. The Kyuubi had saved my life. Sure it was probably for its own selfish reasons, but regardless, my life had been saved.

One hand resting upon my stomach, I smiled.

' _I'm not sure if you can hear me, but thank you_.'


	4. Teammates

Trauma hit three days later.

"Breathe Naruto, Breathe."

I'd officially been released from the hospital and was raring to go. My muscles sung at the very idea of getting another workout, chakra bubbling beneath my skin, energetic and eager. I'd even gone so far as to take the time to throw my hair back into a French plait, the tail tucked back in on itself so my wild blonde hair would remain up and out of the way.

Kakashi had been happy enough to meet up with me at our usual training ground, and he was only an hour late. I suppose that went to show just how much he'd worried about me, the fact I'd ended up in hospital after taking what should have been a lethal blow. Had it been anyone else, then they would be dead.

Which made me ever more thankful that it wasn't Kakashi who'd ended up getting stabbed in the back.

I'd been happy enough to start off with a warm up spar, and it'd been going well until Kakashi had switched from taijutsu to kunai. The second he'd gotten past my guard with that sharp blade, I'd just frozen up, and it was only due to Kakashi's quick reflexes that he'd managed to abort the movement and not actually stab me. Quite clearly he'd been expecting me to move out of the way, something that had unfortunately not happened.

Hunched over as I was now, my mind was swirling and my thoughts unclear. I was finding it very difficult to think, and instead had to focus on Kakashi's voice, the only thing that was making any damn sense at the moment. Breathing sounded good. Air in my lungs meant oxygen in my blood, which meant cells working correctly which meant I'd be able to do some bloody thinking and find out what the hell was happening.

Gritting my teeth, I quickly inhaled before letting it out again, listening to the sharp whistle that came with air passing between my front teeth.

"Naruto, are you back yet?"

Taking another breath, I mulled over the question, twisting my head this way and that, considering the question. Was I fully back yet? Not quite, I still didn't have a bloody clue what'd just happened.

Something was drastically wrong with me. I should have been able to dodge that. But, but I'd just locked up. My body had refused to move the second my brain had just shut down.

Folding my legs as Kakashi guided me down onto the worn earth of the training ground, I looked up into his lone black eye, registering the two palms that had come to rest upon my shoulders.

"Naruto. You're currently in Konoha, training ground three. There are no other ninja within a hundred feet of us, no hostiles at all. Breathe."

Nodding, I sucked in another breath, acknowledging that the tempo was becoming more steady as time went on, as Kakashi talked.

It took a few minutes before I was fully aware again, before I could really start to think. And even then I didn't know what had happened. Something, clearly, but what, I didn't know. Kakashi though, he sounded like he knew.

Turning to look at the tall male, who hadn't moved an inch from where he'd crouched down to steady me, I grimaced.

"Kakashi-sensei, what just happened?"

"Trauma Naruto-chan. You've been through a traumatic experience and the sight of a blade being so close to your ribs sent your mind reeling back to the near fatal injury you suffered not even a week ago."

Trauma?

But, but I wasn't allowed to get trauma. It wasn't a ninja way. Ninja were going to get hurt, that was a universal fact. If I froze up every time something sharp came at me, I'd end up dead before my next mission. Uzumaki Naruto of the manga hadn't gotten traumatized at any point, and he'd faced far worse than me.

Was I that inadequate that I'd trip at the first hurdle? That I'd panic at the very thought of something sharp possibly breaking through my skin? Aichmophobia was the fear of sharp pointy objects.

Did I have Aichmophobia? Or at least, a sub division of it? Possibly. Was I allowed to keep it? No.

It was a terrible, it spelled disaster in regards to everything I'd worked for.

"How do you get rid of trauma Kakashi-sensei."

He grimaced. That was not promising at all.

And then, he slowly handed me a kunai.

Cautiously, I accepted the metal, staring at the sharp edge. It didn't seem dangerous right now, laying between my fingers as it was. But the second I considered the pointy end being driven towards my body, I could almost feel the cold sweat threatening to break out across my skin.

"It differs for each person Naruto. I... After a mission gone bad I couldn't stand to be underground. It took a great deal of over exposure to move about below surface level. But it is possible to overcome, nee?"

He was talking about Obito.

Kakashi had a reason to be scared of caves, even if it was in the past. He'd actually lost a team-mate. Or, so he thought. I didn't. I'd nearly lost my life but it was damn selfish to think that way. I... I needed to get over the trauma.

Before I could think clearly, I thrust the kunai towards my free hand, feeling Kakashi flinch instinctively beside me but not going to stop the movement. He didn't need to.

My own muscles locked up, the blade an inch away from the tender flesh of my palm. I was scared. I didn't want to get pierced by a blade again.

Getting over this, was going to be troublesome.

 

It took four weeks.

Kakashi had pulled me from the active mission router, barred me from seeing Tenten and by extension, Team Gai. I wasn't even allowed to visit Shisui to give him the daily bentos. Instead, all that was left to my clones as Kakashi squirreled me away to a little training ground up behind the Hokage mountain. It was hidden in a thick patch of forest, a small freshwater spring acting as our only water source.

The desensitisation training I was put through as hell.

That was the simplest way to put it. I hated ever second of it, but it worked. You couldn't argue with results. I could once again stab myself with a kunai to escape a genjutsu. I didn't freeze up when Kakashi came at me with a blade. I was cured.

Didn't mean I'd ever want to go through that training again.

 

Landing in a crouch atop the wooden posts of training ground nine, my eyes scanned the trio of shocked faces, amusement surging through my veins when Lee and Tenten leapt to their feet as soon as they recovered.

"Naruto-san! You have returned! Gai-sensei informed us that our spar would have to be put on hold until you returned from your most youthful training with Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi hadn't told them what training I was being put through, only that it couldn't wait. That was good, I didn't need anybody looking down on me for my lack of mental fortitude. I'd never heard of another ninja suffering from something like this, but then again, only Kakashi and the Hokage knew I'd frozen up. Was everyone's kept quiet? So it wouldn't alert the masses just how unstable their shadow protectors were? That was a bit of a terrifying thought in all honest.

Grinning, I ran a sheepish hand through one tail of blonde hair, the other dropping the four bentos I'd brought with me. Gai had been kind enough to inform me that not only was he leaving his team a free day in which it would just be the three of them to train, but what each of their preferred foods were. So the bentos were acting as a 'sorry I had a mental breakdown and ruined our sparring date' apology. Only, they didn't know about the breakdown bit.

"It is good to see you are well, Uzumaki."

Nodding to Neji, I hopped down from the post, jamming one hand into my pocket and the other scratching at my whiskered cheek.

"Okay, so who's up first?"

 

We continued to spar over the next year or so. And I won. But it took a bit more effort every time, especially with Neji, I really had to think things through.

Sparring with Lee was just a rapid trade of blows, each one of us increasing the complexity and power of our taijutsu until we reached a level the other could not match. It was the same with Tenten, only I had to use ninjutsu whereas she liked throwing sharp and pointy objects. I didn't have enough weapons to try and beat her when it came to throwing them about.

It had been a good call on Kakashi's part, to keep her away from me while I was still traumatized. I frowned at the thought, I really didn't like describing that experience, but there was no other way to say it, no way of getting around it. Because I had been traumatized.

Fighting with Neji was the most difficult of the three. I had to be fully conscious of where he was aiming to strike, and how to dodge back and away from whatever blows he was planning to land. If I let him get the wrong combo in, I'd be down. Or at the very least unable to use chakra from my arms. Which would be a very big no-no when it came to finishing out spar. So yes, I did have to work for it. But I'd been a genin for nearing six years now. Near enough six years under Kakashi-sensei's wing and there was no way I'd shame him by getting beaten by a rookie.

"So, the next batch of graduates are being released into the ranks next week."

Looking over at Tenten, I nodded in acknowledgement to her statement. It was an unusually hot October, the summer heat having lasted far longer than recorded before in the past decade.

Currently, I was laid across a picnic blanket on my stomach, head nestled in one arm and an ice pop clutched in the other. Tenten was sprawled out in a similar manner beside me, our eyes lazily following the two males of Team Nine that were still sparring.

The four of us just so happened to have a day off right now, and had come the agreement that we'd meet at Team Gai's usual training field and spend the day relaxing. Yet, it seemed that only Tenten shared my definition of the term 'relaxing'.

Letting out a low whistle as Lee was blown back by another of Neji's movements, I rolled my eyes, casually returning my gaze back to the only other sane genin around here. How they were working in this heat, I didn't have a clue.

"Will you finally be getting a team then?"

Snorting, I took a bite of the ice pop and tried not to shiver at the feel of the frozen treat against my teeth.

Would I be getting a team? Yes, I would. Did I know what to expect? Not at all.

"I think so. Kakashi-sensei hasn't mentioned it yet, but it makes sense I would, right?"

Tenten hummed, turning her gaze back to the boys and then shooting to her feet.

"Damn it you two! Cool off!"

Looking up, I scowled at spotting Lee, who'd collapsed on the ground and was breathing rapidly. Snatching up two jugs of ice cold water, I dashed over, pouring one over the dark haired boy and smirking when he spluttered.

These days wouldn't last. The thought nagged at the back of my head. As soon as I was assigned my team, then it'd all start kicking off. That business with Wave, then the Chũnin exams. It'd really heat up after that, because that's when the Akatsuki would show up. And, it'd be up to me to stop them when it came down to it. I couldn't let them get the Kyuubi. It'd be the end of the world if I did. Kaguya would come back, and then it'd be every ninja for themselves. The threat of war, of losing a war, was hanging down on my head. And I was the only one that knew it was coming right now.  I needed to be strong enough to face it.

Looking up from where I'd been crouched over Lee, I focused in on Neji.

"Wanna spar Neji?"

"Let's go Uzumaki."

 

Arms hooked under a pair of legs, I walked along down the side streets of Konoha, lugging Neji Hyūga along with me, piggyback style.

The dark haired boy had trained with me until he'd collapsed. Even now I could still feel his brain whirling, trying to figure out why my stamina was so much greater than his own, especially since I was female. It wasn't a matter of sexism, just a case of the fact that usually, men outlasted females on the stamina front when it came to fighting. A year ago, he'd have passed it off, come to the conclusion that it was because I'd been a genin for half a decade and was used to the strenuous work. But a year of working under Gai, of being pushed to the limits...

Well, no doubt he'd come to the conclusion already that I wasn't entirely normal. That there was something off about me. If he asked, I was more than willing to point him in the direction of my Uzumaki heritage, and that should put the questions off for a little longer.

I knew no one else would understand me better than him in our age group, considering that he too wore a seal forced upon him by family. But I was still hesitant, and not just because I wasn't legally allowed to speak of my secret. The Hokage had said anyone I wished to tell had to be investigated by him personally, until I got to the point where I could use the Kyuubi chakra in such a way that it was impossible to hide.

Maybe I'd tell him before the Chũnin exams. Because while Tenten may have been a good friend, one I could speak openly too, Neji was what I'd consider my best friend. Even if he was closed off, he just seemed to understand better. Unlike Tenten and Lee, he'd suffered. And he recognised the fact that I had too, even if it were unconsciously. As for the crush thing... Well, I wasn't sure if it was what Gai had said it to be, but I wasn't going to stop spending time with him just because of those suspicions.

Skidding to a halt by the front gates of the Hyūga compound, I knocked as gently as I could with my left foot, balanced precariously on my right.

Neji huffed from his spot on my back, and if he were anything other than bone tired, I knew for certain he'd had fought tooth and nail to get off my back by now.

Another Hyūga, no doubt branch family from the way his forehead was wrapped up with a bandage, opened the door, white eyes widening slightly at the sight the two of us no doubt made.

"Hi there, I think this belongs to you."

Neji growled on my back, but didn't seemed able to find the energy to voice his complaints over my words.

The Hyūga blinked, clearly still startled before stepping aside, allowing me into the house. I felt my eyebrows shoot up. I was being invited into the compound? That was a strange thought. While they'd never actively shunned me, the Hyūga clan had never really gone out of their way to interact with me either, so how I'd be treated was anyone's guess.

"Please follow me Uzumaki-san."

Looking up at the branch member, I grinned, hefting Neji further up my back and scowling when he closed one of my tenketsu in retaliation.

"Nice to meet ya'  Hyūga-san. You can just call me Naruto."

"Then it is Iroha to you, Naruto-san."

Grinning, I followed after Iroha Hyūga, making sure to slip my shoes off at the hallway. The Hyūga household was very traditional, the layout, the colour scheme. The plan wasn't as open as what a ninja usually preferred, but considering these people could see through walls, the structure of a building meant nothing to their paranoia. From the looks of it, they'd focused on making any guests feel uncomfortable, and any unwelcomed guests confused by the layout.

Already I wouldn't be able to find my way back without a guide. Not that it'd stop me from escaping if I was attacked, I'd just exit via ceiling. It was one of Kakashi's favourite tricks when it came to escaping. Up or under.

Smirking slightly, I looked up as Iroha stopped suddenly.

"A-Ano, Iroha-san..."A very quiet voice stuttered out.

Poking my head around Iroha's taller form, I cocked my head to a side at the girl stood nervously before us. Hinata. She looked, well, kinda like a mouse if I was honest. She was painfully shy, that much was obvious. Her confidence was pretty much zero, it was easy to see from the slump of her shoulders to the was her neck curved forwards slightly, like her head was used to facing the floor. She was a tiny thing, all big doe like eyes and cropped short, dark hair.

 She was so pretty.

"Hello Hyūga-san! I'm just dropping Neji off then I'll be on my way." Hinata went pink.

Blinking, I grimaced. I'd forgotten my bow.

Anxious to make up for my mistake, I bowed at the waist, jostling my passenger and getting another tenketsu sealed up for my efforts.

"It's nice to meet you."

"H-Hello g-guest-san.... B-Brother Neji." Hinata bowed quickly, far too low than she really should have done when we were meeting for the first time in her house.

"Hinata-sama, this is Uzumaki Naruto, she was gracious enough to bring Neji-san back from their training session." Hinata had left rosy pink behind. She was now approaching blood red, her pale skin disappearing with the blush on her face.

I don't know why she would react in such a way when it came to knowing my name. Hell, I was pretty sure I'd never met the girl before today. Maybe passed her in the street, but never actually talked to her before.

"So this is Uzumaki Naruto?"

Twitching, I twisted around to look at the next Hyūga to join our little group discussion, eyes instantly flying to the unmarked forehead. Main branch it was then. And from the way Neji had tensed on my back once again, then I was going to lean towards the fact this man was his uncle, Hinata's father then.

"That's me," bowing once again, but careful not to displace Neji any more than necessary, I offered my politest smile.

"Iroha, take over Uzumaki-san's burden."

I frowned. Not only was that sentence missing a please, but that word, 'burden', could be taken the complete wrong way. But I couldn't make an enemy out of the Hyūga clan, that really wouldn't be smart. It really wouldn't...

Oh forget it.

"It's okay Hyūga-sama, it's kinda my fault actually, we sparred and I didn't realize that other people don't have the same obnoxious gifts that I do when it comes to stamina in battle. I've got no problem helping Neji out when it's my fault he's this tired. Can you point me to his room please, Hyūga-sama?"

Hiashi Hyūga's face was practically unreadable, and I could feel Neji still tense, taunt as a bowstring on my back. The stifling silence last for a few seconds, before Hiashi gave the smallest nod of his head.

"Three doors down on the left." And then he walked away. That was weird.

I'd never be running Neji into the ground again, this was far too awkward.

 

Drumming my fingers on the wooden armrest of the chair I was sat in, I looked at Kakashi out of the corner of my eye, pushing the memories of last week's visit to the Hyūga compound from my mind. I hadn't been back since, nor had I had a chance to see Neji, since Team Gai had gotten a month long C-rank the next day.

I had a nagging suspicion that Kakashi had somehow forced his fellow Jonin to take the mission so that I'd be free to interact with my new team instead of heading off after Team Gai, but who was I to say that and call it fact? The only reason I was suspicious was that it seemed like something Kakashi would do.

"These are very good Naruto-chan, but I honestly can't quite see the problem."

"Kakashi-sensei said the same thing."

The Third Hokage was sat opposite me, Kakashi leaning against the wall of the Hokage's office and lazily flipping through his book.

Out of the entire village, there were very few proficient with Fūinjutsu. Even fewer were those that I'd trust with what I was currently working on. Right now, my grand total of trusted people was two, Kakashi, and the Third. I'd already had Kakashi take a look over the seal, but regardless of how close my sensei had been to one of the original users of what was perhaps one of the most famous jutsus in the Leaf, he was left scratching his head over the problem. And it appeared the Third was just as clueless as we were.

"But there's still a problem."

Standing up, I summoned a clone, walking to the other side of the room and placing my hand against the wall, leaving a seal on the surface. There was a flash of yellow as my clone activated the jutsu, reappearing right on top of the seal. But also sliced into two pieces. She was only visible for  second before disappearing, and the lovely memories of being torn in half hit me for the third time that day.

Trying to recreate the Flying Thunder God technique was hard, far harder than what I'd thought the day I'd taken the project on. Not long ago, Kakashi had gotten my started on the Rasengan, and even though I had a basic understanding of the different steps, I was struggling with it.

So, in the face of slow progress, I'd attempted to take on the signature jutsu of my father.

Only to find it was far more work than I'd been expecting.

I had to start completely from scratch, because the seal had to be set perfectly to fit me. That's why the markings of the Fourth and the Second were so different. Because they had to be specifically designed for one person to use, to manipulate the space–time continuum. The kind of seal work that it took to figure it out was why there had only been two users in Konoha history. The only people that had a chance at recreating it were the Third, Jiraiya and Kakashi, though I was a bit uncertain if Kakashi actually had enough knowledge of seals to actually manage it. The amount of work that went into creating the seal tag was astronomical.

It was a damn good thing that I'd tried it with my clones first. I did not fancy getting torn in half.

The only problem was, that I couldn't figure out where I'd gone wrong. I'd used the classic Uzumaki spiral for stability of the seal, drawing inspiration from the one upon my stomach. I'd managed to condense it down to a set of five points, but from there, I was stuck.

"I'm afraid this is beyond my knowledge Naruto-chan. Though I'm sure Jiraiya will be happy to help when he's next in Konoha."

"And that is?" I knew he visited during the Chũnin exams, or was at least scheduled to if I remembered correctly. But maybe he was in the village before then?"

"My wayward student will be back in the village around June, I'm sure you can hang on until then."

Slowly nodding my head, I let out a little sigh  before a thought struck me and a grin spread across my face.

"Or maybe I'll figure it out myself by then?"

"Maybe you will. Good luck Naruto."

Bowing, I got to my feet, twisting around to face Kakashi.

And was just in time to watch my silver haired sensei plough the hidden Mizuki into the floor when he tried stabbing him in the back. Well, this seemed like it hadn't changed at least. Mizuki had still tried for the forbidden scroll, only he'd been stupid enough to attempt it not only with Kakashi present, but the actual Hokage in the room. That was suicide really.

He didn't even get to rattle off about me being the demon not the container, Kakashi just knocked him out with one graceful move, Icha Icha never leaving his hand. I couldn't quite ignore the amusement that bubbled up inside me, pulling out a roll of ninja wire and tying the Chũnin's hands behind his back in the secure hold Kakashi had drilled into me years ago.

"We need a new ID photo by the way Naruto-chan, you've grown up a bit since you were six." That, that was a good point. It had been quite a while since I'd last gotten an ID photo.

Last time I'd actually gotten a photo taken was when it was just myself and Kakashi, a photo to commemorate a year of our apprentice/sensei relationship. It was framed on my nightstand, by my bedside. I kept it close, because in all honesty, I treasured it. Whenever the stares of the villagers got me down -and it did, no matter the mask I put on- I'd just look at it, and the one person that'd accepted me before anyone else, and the tight band around my heart would slacken slightly. Kakashi really was the older brother I'd never had, as soppy as it sounds.

Speaking of crybabies-

"Do I get to come to T&I when you drop him off?" Gesturing to the Chũnin Kakashi had lazily slung over his shoulder, I waved goodbye to the Hokage, following after my father's student.

"Maa, do you really want to Kaichō-chan?"

"Bring in the traitor? Sure, sounds like fun."

 

It was two days before team orientation, and I was once again stood in line for an ID photo, for the second time in my life. It was a yearly event, which saw newly gradated ninjas turning up for the photos, and ninja who'd been in the system for long enough that their appearance had changed getting their new little ID card.

Currently, I was in the second line, drumming my fingers against one thigh whilst the other toyed with the empty lollypop stick that was stuck out from between my lips.

"Hey there Kaichō-chan."

Twisting my head, I grinned at the sight before me. Shisui Uchiha had made his way over, a roll of forms held in one hand. Looked like he was here to get a new photo done too.

"Hi Shisui-sempai. Here for a photo too?" I already knew he was, but it never hurt to make simple conversation.

The teenaged Uchiha rolled his eyes, a teasing smile stretching across his lips as he reached over and ruffled my hair. In response, I just dug another lollypop out of my pocket, offering it up.

That was another thing my underground market had started working on, sweets. It was a little something I'd just dreamed up in a spur of the moment, when my thoughts had been focused on Itachi and his suffering. So I went about creating plenty of sweets and other candies, allowing merchants to buy them in bulk and go off into the outside world selling them. The thought that Itachi could at the very least try something new as a result of my actions made me a little happier, even if it meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The fact Shisui seemed to have gotten a little addicted to the lollypops was just a bonus really.

"You can drop the sempai now Naruto-chan, you've been a ninja for long enough."

Pouting, I turned my big blue eyes up on the older teen. It really wasn't a matter of respect for me now, calling Shisui my sempai. It'd gotten to the point now where it seemed to be more a term of endearment.

The Jonin rolled his eyes, but nevertheless stopped pushing for me to drop the address.

"So, do I get to host your eighteenth birthday party, or are you going out for a wild night with the big kids now that you're an adult in civilian land."

Shisui almost chocked on the lollypop he'd just stuck in his mouth.

"Why would I go out on the town when you're so graciously offering to bake me a cake? Do I look crazy enough to turn down your cooking?"

"Well..."

Scowling, Shisui elbowed me in the ribs and I laughed, poking him back and ignoring the looks that the other ninjas nearby where sending the two of us.

Some were still weary of my status at the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, but since I'd been a genin for half a decade now, they'd gotten used to seeing me pass by now. I was a common sight in and around Konoha, proudly wearing my headband whenever I was on duty.

"Next." Another trio of ninja disappeared around the corner to get their photos taken. Stretching my arms above my head, I paused at the triad of freshly minted genin leaving. Two of them I didn't recognise, but one I did.

With brilliant blonde hair shades lighter than my own, Yamanaka Ino was admiring her new photo ID, before her pupiless blue eyes caught sight of the two of us. Or rather, Shisui.

"Shisui-san!" She bounced over, a brilliant ball of energetic sunshine and I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my lips. She looked so happy at her achievement, at the fact she'd become a ninja after putting in so much effort that I couldn't help but smile along as well.

"Hello Ino-chan. I see you finally became a ninja." How did Shisui know Ino though? Unless something drastic had changed, it couldn't be through Sasuke. Sasuke, last I'd seen him when the Bento Fairy, as Shisui lovingly referred to me, had struck again. And he'd certainly not seemed like he was friends with Ino. Well, hopefully Shisui would offer me an explanation at some point in the future.

Almost as if hearing my thoughts, the two turned to look at me and Shisui's smile grew that little bit more.

"Ino-chan, this cute little Hime is Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto-chan, this is Yamanaka Ino, her parents sell the best flowers in town. She's your fellow genin now."

Oh, that's how Shisui knew her. Of course he'd buy flowers for his clan... Should I have started buying flowers for Minato and Kushina's death now that I knew? Well, I'd already missed it this year, the date having past not four days ago, along with my birthday. That'd gone by quietly, seeing as I'd only let Kakashi and Shisui know the actual date. Both had gotten me a small present each, but I didn't like making a big deal out of that day. It'd seemed disrespectful, what with both my parents meeting their death's that day.

"Oh! So are you one of the graduates from last year? How do you know Shisui-san?"

Blinking, I looked over at Ino and blushed slightly, running one hand through my blonde bangs.

"Not quite Yamanaka-san, I graduated five years ago. I know Shisui-sempai because we've run some missions together."

Blank stare.

Luckily I was saved from answering any more questions when I was called forwards with two others, leaving Shisui to speak with the Yamanaka girl. But not before I said my farewells.

How strange, I'd not seen any of the rookie nine except Sasuke before this month, and then I meet two within a week of each other. That was pretty interesting. Belatedly, I wondered who I'd be running into next. Hopefully it wouldn't be until after I was assigned my team. Every time my thoughts turned to the idea of team placements, a stone settled in my stomach, my body almost trembling with nerves. Who would I end up with? Sasuke, well I was ninety percent sure on him, but the other? That was anybody's guess. Would it still be Sakura, despite the fact there was already one girl on the team? Or would it be another male, leaving me the sole female of Team Seven?

"Right then kid, three, two, one."

I flashed a smile, the bright light of the camera sending black dots dancing across my vision for a second as my pupils fought to readjust to the sudden difference in light.

 "Next!"

 

A brilliant flash of sunlight bounced off the small metal pin in my hands as I twisted it back and forth, one fingers running along the edge of the little Leaf Symbol. A decorative pin, a reward for five years of service to Konoha and her interests. I didn't know much about the pins, only that they were made from kunai that were no longer serviceable due to over exposure to chakra, the metal melted down and used in pins.

One of which I was now the proud owner of.

I had no idea what the next 'reward' would be, probably when a decade came around.

Come to think of it, Kakashi-sensei should have a decade reward by now, perhaps a medal of service? Hell, if I remember right, he'd should have been in active service for twenty years by now. He had just turned twenty six last month. Twenty years as a ninja was a rather grand achievement after all.

"You've grown up a lot Naruto-chan."

Eyes drifting over to the Third Hokage, I gave a lacklustre shrug, trying to beat back the blush that stained my cheeks. I was growing up, at long last. It was about bloody time in all honesty, it seemed like I'd been a child forever. But, with the ageing of this body, came the threats of the future drawing near like a shark to blood.

"I guess I have."

Running a thumb over the new set of dog-tags I'd been given, I looped the thin metal chain around my neck, dropping the metal plates down the collar of my shirt and clipping the thin Leaf Village pin onto the simple black shirt I was wearing. Considering the fact today was my off day that I couldn't spend with Team Gai, I was in my civilian clothes and planned to track down Kakashi, to bug him for one last meal before we became a quartet instead of a duo. I was feeling nolgastic. Brushing down the burnt yellow shirt that came to rest just above my knees, I stuck one hand into the pockets of the skirt a clone had made several days ago and grinned.

"It doesn't seem like too long ago that you were a little brat asking to join the academ-"

The door banged open, armed with a shuriken and I reacted before I'd even recognised if the intruder was a threat. I shot forwards, snatching up the obnoxiously long scarf at the same time I stole the enemy's weapon, stabbing it into the thick blue material and trapping the assailant to the ground.

It was at this point that my brain finally caught up with my body and it's reactions enough to register that if the ANBU had let them in, then they were probably safe.

Looking down into the tearful black eyes that burned with a hint of something, I let out a sigh.

"Sorry Hokage-sama."

"It's okay Naruto-chan."

The Hokage's long suffering grumble let me know that, disregarding my reaction, this scene was a common occurrence.

"Hey! You attacked me!"

Turning to look at the small form I'd immobilized, my lips twitched up into a smile without my permission. The boy, who I was pretty sure was the Hokage's grandson, was wrapped up tightly in his scarf, having tripped on the floor

"I thought you were a threat to Hokage-sama. Trust me kid, if you were I'd have you unconscious and in T&I by now."

"Uzumaki! That is the Hokage's grandson!"

My eye twitched.

Yeah, sure the brat might be the Third's grandson, but I was the Fourth's daughter. Even if only three people in this village knew it, I wasn't going to be taking stick from anyone.

"So?" Folding my arms across my chest, I arched my eyebrow at the Jonin, leaning back on the foot so that my weight was placed there. Ease for quick movement if needs be.

The Jonin seemed to splutter for a second, mouth flapping open and closed before he made a humm sound in the back of his throat. Slowly, my eyes drifted over to look at the Hokage, and I gave a low nod.

It was obvious what he was trying to say with his eyes. Had it been known that Minato Namikaze had fathered a child, not only would there be assassination attempts galore, but I'd have had to deal with this. No one being truthful to my face because of my father's status as village hero and martyr. I didn't like it, but in the long run, I guess this was better overall.

"What do you mean so?! You little brat!"

"I don't care if he's the Hokage's grandson. Let's face it, if it came down to a hostage situation between the two of us, and there was only one that could be saved, the council would go for me. And from the sneer on your face, I see you know all about that."

Of course the council wouldn't want their Jinchuriki out of reach. From what my spy network of clones had been able to gather, it was blatantly obvious that the trio were exceptionally happy their little Jinchuriki was such a genius. That I'd graduated early, that I'd gotten so strong, that I was oh so good at Fūinjutsu. Slowly but surely, I was becoming a 'real Uzumaki' in their eyes, an asset to replace the major one lost during the Kyuubi attack. They'd lost a seal master, but I was growing into that role for them.

Ha. I'd like to see their faces when they realize that I was actually the daughter of that asset they'd lost.

"Thank you for five years of active service Uzumaki Naruto." The Hokage offered me a little head nod and I smiled back, giving a respectful bow.

"Thanks for having me. Any tips on where I'll find my errant sensei today?"

 

Making my way down the main street of Konoha, I juggled the small picnic basket in my hands about until I'd gotten a comfortable grip on the handle. A clone had dropped it off a few seconds ago, jam packed full of food, and now I was making my way to the Third Training Ground of Konoha. Or more specifically, the memorial stone.

The Hokage had been kind enough to point me in the right direction, so with luck I'd be able to pull Kakashi out of his funk with copious amounts of brilliantly cooked food. And how could it be anything else when I had clones forever working on the skill. There was little that couldn't be improved through practice.

Unfortunately, singing appeared to be one of those things. Oh well. At least I knew how to play the flute now.

Stopping just before the training ground entrance, I let out a low sigh, twisting to get a look at my tail. He'd been following me since the Hokage's office. It was kinda cute really, and I could feel my maternal instincts, long buried under the fact that I was pretty much a child myself, roar back to life.

"You can come out now kid."

"Impressive, to see through my disguise like, especially for a girl!" The kid, the Third Hokage's grandson, got closer, pointing at me with a scowl on his face.

"Grandpa said you've been a ninja for five years! But you're not that much older than me!" It wasn't really posed as a question. Still though, my smile didn't drop. He was a right brat. But then again, so were most kids his age.

"Yes, I've been a ninja for five years. What's your name kid?"

"Sarutobi Konohamaru! And now you've gotta train me!"

Raising a brow, I folded my arms, a position made awkward by the large basket in my arms.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! And I'll make you my boss in exchange!"

Oh god. There was that word again. Boss.

"Sorry kid, I'm busy right now. Try again later."

 

"Maa, why is there a brat following you around Kaichō-chan?"

I sighed.

Konohamaru hadn't listened to a word I'd said, instead he'd continued to follow me, badly, until I'd finally found Kakashi-sensei. The silver haired man had been lying on his back on the thick grass of training ground three, staring up at the cloudless sky and no doubt enjoying the peace that a Gai-free village brought him.

I can't really say I blamed him. I'd taken part in a few of the challenges, just because Lee was doing so as well. And while Kakashi's were okay, usually something stupid like hide and seek or rock, paper, scissors, Gai's on the other hand were complete evil. What idiot wants to climb up the Hokage mountain using only one hand and one foot? No, I wouldn't be stupid enough to sign up for Gai's challenge again.

Unless it was cooking. I rocked at that. Speaking of-

"He wants me to train him." Elbowing the older ninja when he let out an amused snicker, I turned to the general direction that Konohamaru was standing in, holding up a sandwich as I did so.

"We know you're there kid. If you're going to stick around anyway you might as well get some food for it."

At Kakashi's glance, I looked away, pouting. So maybe I'd taken a liking to the brat, so what? There wasn't a problem with that, not really.

After a moments hesitation, Konohamaru came scampering out of the shrubbery, stopping before the two of us and looking cautiously between my face and the sandwich I held out. It was a simple enough thing, basic ham and cheese, both of which I'd made myself, completely from scratch. The clones had to find something to fill their time with.

"Thanks boss!" And he plopped himself down beside us, chomping away with all the gusto his little body could manage. Blinking in a startled manner, I turned to look at Kakashi and frowned.

"Is this how you felt when you got me?"

"Maa, you were a bit more annoying."

"Hey!"

 

We sat in a friendly silence for a while, just eating my rather brilliant packed lunch and enjoying the natural heat of Fire Country. Kakashi was probably musing over something rather serious, and while my thoughts probably weren't on a very heavy topic in comparison, I still considered Konohamaru important. If I remembered right, he was going to defeat one of Pein's bodies. So, he kinda needed to toughen up.

"Alright kiddo, what's your story then?"

"Grandpa gave me the name Konohamaru... I'm named after the village. And even though everyone knows my name, nobody calls me that. When someone is talking about me, or calling me, all they ever see is the Hokage's grandson. No one sees me as me. I'm sick of it, so that's why I want the Hokage title."

I could feel Kakashi's interest without the need to look at him, could feel him wondering how I'd be responding to this.

"Konohamaru. You can't just become Hokage because you want people to see you, to get them to respect you. To become Hokage, people have to already respect you. The First made the village, it was his dream and it was he who extended his hand of friendship out to Uchiha Madara to make the village in the first place. He took the first step towards peace. And his brother, the Second, continued to protect that peace. You Grandfather was chosen by the Second because he was so respected by everyone, because he was willing to sacrifice himself for his team-mates. And the Fourth, he was chosen because he protected everybody in the war, because he fought and cared for the village above everything else. The Hokage is someone who looks after every person in the village, from the toughest ninja to the weakest orphan. If you only want the title to make people see you, then you'll run our village into the ground before you get the slightest bit of respect. You don't become the Hokage for acknowledgement, you become Hokage because you were acknowledged."

Rubbing at the back of my head in an awkward, gauche movement, I turned my gaze towards the Hokage mountain, sighed slightly as I did so.

"So really, you need to train hard, become the hardest working ninja in the village, to protect everyone. And if you start with that, then next time we see each other we can have a spar, alright?"

"Right! Then from now on, you're not my boss anymore!" Konohamaru shot to his feet, fists clenched and a thoughtful frown on his face.

And then I suddenly had a lap full of child, Konohamaru's arms wrapped around my neck in a tight hug. It only lasted a few seconds, and he leapt away with bright red cheeks but a determined grin on his face.

"You give really good advice... So you can be my nee-chan from now on, okay?" And he was gone before I could say otherwise, not that I really would have done.

Still a bit bemused, I turned back to look at Kakashi, raising an eyebrow as I did so.

"What just happened?"

"Well Kaichō-chan, you went from being a sempai to being a nee-chan, I thought that was obvious."

"But I just wanted to teach him a few things, correct his view of the world!"

Shrugging, Kakashi pulled Icha Icha out. No doubt he'd predicted that the Third would be watching us through that crystal ball of his, and reading porn around his grandson was a big no-no.

"So does this make you my nii-san then?"

Kakashi chocked. Actually chocked.

Turning to get a better look at the Jonin, I frowned internally. Was that such a bad thing? There wasn't anything wrong with that, was there?

"Maa, sorry Kaichō-chan... Sensei..."

Ah, he didn't need to say anymore. Of course Minato would have wanted Kakashi to see me as a little sister. Hell, had he lived I'd probably have grown up with Kakashi as an older brother.

"Well it Tousan wanted you to be my big brother then I guess that's just how I'll have to refer to you from now on."

 

Laying on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling.

I'd bought myself a cosy little house, not too far from the main street, but far enough away that I didn't feel claustrophobia. I still paid rent for my old apartment, seeing as the room had now pretty much become a little sweatshop for my clones to work in. They were churning out all kinds of produce now, and it was best to just send a batch off to work there for the day then try and set everything up in my new home.

Life now, was strange. Tomorrow something monumental would be happening; I'd be getting some teammates. What if Kakashi changed his mind and decided he liked them more than me?

It was an insecure thought, but I couldn't help but let it run through my head for a second. Then I snorted, rolling over until I was lying face down in the pillow.

No, Kakashi would never do that. I sounded like an older sibling, about to be introduced to the new born baby sibling. Kakashi might not favour me anymore when we do form an official team, but I'd spent the most time around him. He was my sensei first, he knew how to interact best with me. I'd had a near death experience, Kakashi had been the one to help me through it and the resulting trauma.

Looking back on it, we'd been through quite a lot together. No, he wouldn't leave me.

But thinking on that near death experience..

Lifting up my hips, I placed a hand against my stomach, taunt muscles flexing. In my old life I'd never had a need for real exercise before. And while it was hard work here, by god did it pay off. Even if doing five hundred squats first thing in a morning, followed by a mile sprint at top speed, was evil in training routine form. And that was just the warm up.

Really though, I needed to talk to the Kyuubi.

I'd been putting it off, something I most certainly shouldn't have done.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, exhaling at a slow and steady rate. I was going to talk to the Kyuubi. I was going to fall into my mindscape and I was going to talk to the Kyuubi.

 

I woke up in the same sewer as I'd visited last time. Grimacing, I stood atop the water, running a hand through my hair. It came to rest mid way down my ribs now when it was unbound, the spiky bangs brushing against my cheekbones. It was horrid in here, so dark and dismal.

Something squirmed in my stomach, but I pushed the feeling back, focusing on what I was here to do.

" **So, the jailor returns.** "

Pausing for a second, I twisted on my heel, turning to look at the huge golden gates that sealed the Kyuubi, a tiny scrap of paper placed perfectly between the two. The seal. Scanning the hulking form behind the bars, I grimaced upon realizing the Kyuubi didn't have his eyes open. I literally couldn't tell head from tails.

"Kyuubi-sama," I stepped forwards, swallowing the lump in my throat before dropping onto my knees, my limbs smoothly falling into the Dogeza position. I remained still, determined not to move until I was acknowledged.

It was silent for a few seconds, but with my forehead pressed against the water as it was, I could tell the exact moment hat the Kyuubi opened his eyes, because I could feel the ripples of the liquid from where he drew in a breath. He didn't speak for a moment, though I could feel heavy eyes settling on my shoulders burning into my form. If it weren't my mindscape, I'm sure I'd have broken out into a nervous sweat by now.

Hell, if nothing was vocalized soon, I probably would anyway.

" **What are you doing brat.** " It wasn't a question, not really. I'm pretty sure that the Kyuubi knew exactly what this position meant, a position that acknowledge the fact he was of greater standing than me. It was the greatest thing I could think of, as thanks for saving my life and potentially, Kakashi's as well.

"I am apologizing for not saying this sooner. Thank you. For helping me. You had no reason to, especially when I cried and screamed like a child throwing a tantrum. People say that you are a demon and feel nothing, yet you still gave me aid when I asked it of you, regardless of if it were for me or for your own purposes. I should have said thank you earlier."

The fox snorted and I took that opportunity to sit up, still remaining in a formal position, but no longer bowing. I looked up and up and up at the two red eyes that hovered above me, the orange fur of the Kyuubi's face now visible in the dim lighting of the sewer. I wished  could change it, but no matter how hard I focused, the environment remained the same.

"Erm, hi. My name's Uzumaki Naruto and I'm a genin of Konoha. I like my sensei and sparring with my friends. I dislike traitors, the cycle of hatred and running damage control for my sensei's challenges with his eternal rival. My hobbies are cooking and training. My dream for the future is to lessen the hatred in the world as much as I can. It's nice to meet you." I offered a nod of my head in greeting, unable to help the shy tinge to my smile as I looked up at the Nine Tailed Demon that'd destroyed so much of Konoha, regardless of it'd been used by Obito Uchiha.

The fox was still quiet, but it'd shifted around, head coming to rest upon his paws and nose almost pressed up against the thick bars of the cage.

" **You're not like the others. What are you after?** "

"We're stuck together. I'm not fond of the situation because of the repercussions it's had in the waking world for me. I doubt you like it in here either. I'd like to get along though, seeing as we're stuck together?"

The Kyuubi snorted, and after five minutes of sitting, I got the impression that I wasn't going to get a verbal answer.

So, registering the cramping in my legs, I slowly stood up, stretching them out. My eyelids felt heavy with sleep, even though my body was unconscious right now my mind was still working. And I needed really sleep.

"The history books said that Madara Uchiha," -and wasn't there a growl at that name?- "brought you to Konoha to fight the First. That he put you under his control. And then Uzumaki Mito sealed you into herself... I'm sorry that my kind used you as a weapon Kyuubi-sama."

And then I was gone, lost to the land of sleep.

 

Walking into the Hokage's office, I blinked at all the Jonin mulling about, a good many stood around the Hokage and his crystal ball. Slowly, I made my way over to stand beside Kakashi sensei, nervously fiddling with a kunai, running my thumb up and down the handle. Team placements. This was okay. I could deal with this.

"Settle down!" The Iruka inside the ball called, glaring out over the class that scrambled to obey his command.

"So, who do we reckon got the Uchiha then?" Sarutobi Asuma was tall, easily over six foot. And to my tiny frame, that seemed gigantic. He also happened to be the only other person with a wind affinity in the village. Funny how we'd not met before today.

"I think he'll be with Kakashi-sensei and me, what with the Sharingan thing." Dark coal eyes turned to me at the man gave an amused smirk.

"So you're Konohamaru-kun's new nee-chan then?" Damn that boy.

"I didn't really get a choice Sarutobi-san, but I guess someone has to keep him out of trouble. Or at least teach him how to deal with it."

The Hokage gave a low chuckle under his breath and we all proceeded to turn our attention back to the crystal ball as the teams were announced. I listened half-heartedly to the first six, stood close to Kakashi but completely focused on the crystal ball.

"This one's a bit unusual, Team Seven will be led by Hatake Kakashi and will consist of his apprentice, Inuzuka Kiba and Uchiha Sasuke."

I winced at the slight hitch of Iruka's tone when it came to the whole 'apprentice' thing. Apparently he didn't want to say my name. Frowning, I ran a hand through my hair, trying to push down the hurt. I'd not been in Iruka's class at the academy that first year, seeing as I'd blasted through the whole thing with determination and hard work as my aids. I'd not had the chance to cultivate a relationship with him, so he didn't know Naruto. Only that she was the Jinchuriki of the demon that killed his parents.

"Maa, Naruto-chan, do you want to do a little spying?"

Only just hearing that a Haruno Sakura had been placed on Team Eight instead of Kiba, I nodded, more than happy to follow Kakashi off to god knows where.

 

Sat on the roof of a rather tall building, myself and Kakashi were eating from bentos a clone had dropped off ten minutes ago. spread across my lap was the academy reports on both Kiba and Sasuke.

"Nee, Kakashi-sensei? Why did Team Eight end up with two girls?" I already knew that with the Naruto of this world being a girl, there was one extra girl in class that should have been a boy, to make even teams. I had thought until now though that we'd still have Sakura on our team, balancing out her abysmal taijutsu grades with my own. Apparently I'd thought wrong though.

"Truth is Kaichō-chan, you messed up the system. One girl too many, but the most promising three have to pass really. Something about politics, I wasn't really paying attention. Kurenai got the team with two girls because normally, females lean more toward precise chakra control. There are very few females who specialize in full frontal assault, which given the fact that you house the Kyuubi no Kitsune, is right up your street. They just don't have enough chakra to follow the same route, so they look to genjutsu and medical ninjutsu, both of which require excellent chakra control. Something Kurenai is very good at. Out of all the other Jonin, I have the most ninjutsu under my belt, so I train the heavy assault team. out of all the other graduates, the Uchiha and Inuzuka were the best choice for our team."

That made sense. In the manga, Sakura ended up on the team because a girl was needed to even the numbers out, and she could provide medical support for Sasuke and Kakashi. Because with the Kyuubi, I could heal from anything other than death on my own.

Suddenly, Kakashi got to his feet, though I was unsurprised to see an empty bento box abandoned by his feet. Sealing both it and my own, I got to my feet too, cocking my head to a side in a curious manner.

"Maa, I'm feeling mean. Let's turn up on time." Oh yes, so that they'll hate you tomorrow when you're extra late. Well, at the very least, it'll be amusing to see the rest of the Jonins faces when Kakashi arrived on time.

 

I was right, it was amusing. Asuma had subtly sliced his thumb on a kunai to check it wasn't a genjutsu and Kurenai had stared, mouth open in surprise. Trotting beside my sensei and looking like the ever eager student, I grinned, offering up a lazy wave at the exact moment Kakashi did.

"Yo." We spoke as one.

"That team is doomed."

Snickering at Asuma's mutter, I followed after Kakashi as we were led into the empty room by Iruka. Apparently all the Jonin arrived before the students, just so they could get gawked at. Tenten hadn't mentioned that. Then again, maybe Iruka ran things differently here?

"Ah! Shisui's Hime!"

Jolting into a state of alertness, I spun around to face the person addressing me and smiled when I found Ino smirking at me.

"Yamanaka-san, it's good to see you again. Are you happy with your team-placement?"

My fellow blonde snorted, flipping her long tail of hair over her shoulder and sighing.

"I got stuck with the lazy bum and eats-a-lot."

Feeling brave, I reached out, patting the girl on the shoulder in the same awkward comfort that Kakashi had offered me at some point.

"It's okay Yamanaka-chan, at least your sensei is nice enough."

Asuma and Kakashi both cuffed me around the ear for that remark, while the Yamanaka seemed to brighten slightly, looking between the two males who'd responded to my taunt.

"Wait, are you Hatake Kakashi's apprentice?"

"If you're asking who got saddled with the brat, then I'd say you're right, it is I who suffers that fate."

Scowling, I elbowed the older ninja in the ribs, who took it with a good natured 'oomph'. Ino was watching with a raised eyebrow, eyeing her own sensei was a sly smile. I could appreciate why, Asuma did appeal to my adult mind in appearance, but the smoking thing? Yeah, not for me.

Regardless though, I got the feeling Ino would appreciate the eye-candy, if what I'd read about her personality was correct.

"Are you interested in Sasuke-kun?!" Suddenly Ino was all up in my face, pupiless blue eyes narrowed and I flinched back, feeling Kakashi's arm clamp down on my wrist to stop me from reflectively going for a kunai. Ino didn't notice.

"I've not had a crush on anyone but Kakashi-sensei before, Yamanaka-chan, and even if I did I'm not interested in a love life until I'm strong enough to protect my precious people."

The blonde's eyes were still narrowed, scanning my body language, but she seemed to find whatever she was looking for, because a grin overtook her face.

"That's great Naruto-chan! Let's be friends! Call me Ino!"

"Okay Ino-chan. It was nice to see you again." And off she went, bouncing to retake her seat as the rest of the class began to make their way in.

"Good look with her," Kakashi grumbled under his breath, lovingly ruffling my hair with the hand not sat in his pocket, "my little apprentice knows she's not allowed any boys until she thirty." Then, sensei turned to address the room at large, handing moving from where it's been sat at the top of my ponytails and coming to rest on my shoulder.

"Team Seven, meet me on the roof."

 

The Body Flicker was a brilliant jutsu, though not so great when your sensei insists on pulling you along with him. Rather discombobulating if I'm honest.

Shaking my head from side to side, I dug my knuckles into the tender flesh of my temple, trying to force the headache away. In my previous life, the one before this, I'd never really suffered from headaches before. I'd been damn lucky now that I considered it. Head-aches were a pain in the rear end.

Looking up at the two boys entered from the stairwell, I straightened from where I was sat on the railing beside Kakashi.

Sasuke looked, well, not brighter per say, but something in his eyes said he hadn't entirely given up on life as a whole. That was good.

And Kiba, Kiba looked like a savage with his spiky brown hair and red fang tattoos.

In fact, we all looked very different, each and every member of our team. Kiba was wild looking, I resembled sunshine and all thing sweet, thanks to the damn whisker marks, Sasuke was all refined darkness, and Kakashi-sensei... Well, he was the eccentric weirdo in all honesty.

 "Yo. Let's begin by introducing ourselves."

"What do you wanna know? You look kinda suspicious, you go first." Kiba's eyes were narrowed and I bristled at his aggressive tone, eyes narrowed at the boy.

Kiba was an Inuzuka, and Inuzuka ran on pack mentality. Logically, he was assessing the situation, seeing where he stood in this pack ranking. And quite frankly, he was at the bottom as far as I was concerned. If I had any say in the matter -and being stronger than my two teammates, I most certainly did- then it was Kakashi at the top, then me, then the two of them. I wanted to get along, but I wasn't going to be putting up with any disrespect. Not when I'd worked so hard under Kakashi's command already. Sweat, blood and tears had made me into what I was now, and I refused to be treated as anything less than a proud genin of Konohagkure.

"Oh, me? Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmm... And I have lots of hobbies."

Kiba spluttered, and even Sasuke looked a little irritated at being so obviously blown off. However, before complaints could be raised, I was elbowed in the side, and it was only thanks to a quick application of chakra to my buttocks that I didn't go flying off the railings.

"Hi, my name's Uzumaki Naruto. I like spending time with sensei and sparring with my friends. I dislike traitors, the cycle of hatred and running damage control for my sensei's challenges with his eternal rival. My hobbies are cooking and training. My dream for the future is to lessen the hatred in the world as much as I can. It's nice to meet you." Offering a quick nod of my head, I scratched bashfully at the back of my neck, grinning.

"Okay then, dog boy, you're up."

Snorting because that description could also be applied to Kakashi himself, I sat forwards, watching Kiba with obvious interest. These two were my teammates, it would be in my best interests to know as much about them as possible.

"The name's Inuzuka Kiba. I like my partner Akamaru," at this, a tiny little yip came from inside Kiba's hood, a furry white face peeking out from atop Kiba's head, "steak and beef. I don't like anyone who looks down on Akamaru! I spend most of my time with Akamaru, and my dream is to become Hokage!" Slapping one fist into his palm, Kiba grinned up at Kakashi, spurred on by his canine partner barking in agreement.

A smile twitched at my lips. He spent a lot of time with his dog, but honestly, that was quite cute.

"And last up," Kakashi hummed, gesturing at Sasuke with a lazy flick of his hand.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are lots of things I dislike and I don't really like anything. And... I can't really call it a dream. But I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and... To kill a certain man."

I frowned. It seemed like Sasuke hadn't changed that much at all with Shisui here. If anything, he seemed furious at the older boy for not going after Itachi himself. I could understand why Shisui wouldn't, and I could understand why he wouldn't tell Sasuke his reasons. When it came to Sasuke and the Uchiha massacre, there really wasn't any right answer. Just a lesser evil.

I listened only half-heartedly as Kakashi explained the basics of the bell test, my arms folded across my chest.

This team would either sink or swim. There was no certainty, no script now that it was Kiba instead of Sakura. Every interaction from here on out would eventually mount up until it was time for the grand conclusion. I'd be lying if I said fear wasn't pumping through my veins at the thought, but I forced my limbs to not shake with the thought. I could manage this. It was possible. I'd prove it.

"Make four bentos tomorrow Kaichō-chan," Kakashi whispered before he disappeared, leaving me alone on the rooftop as both male genin left to make their plans for tomorrow.

Well, this looked like it was going to be a long ride.

 

"Good morning sensei." Stood up to the kitchen stove in my pyjamas, I gave a blurry eyed blink at the silver haired man, flipping the bacon that was sizzling away in the pan. It was the first time in several weeks that I'd taken the time out to cook breakfast personally, instead of just having a clone do it. Kakashi had rocked up about a minute ago, but I'd been sleepy that I'd only just realized he was sat up to table.

Pulling out a carton of orange juice, I poured two glasses, pushing one across the table to Kakashi before returning to the stove.

"Eggs?"

"Sunny."

I went about the movements in an almost mechanical way, so engraved into the brain were the different stages of a cooked breakfast. Green tea came next, followed by two sausages on each plate, tomatoes, baked beans, then the bacon and eggs. A traditional English breakfast that'd been gaining popularity as my business empire grew more and more. Kakashi was certainly hooked, and nothing pleased me more than watching -or as was the case with my much beloved sensei, not watching- him woof back the food I made.

A damn good shinobi he may be, but Kakashi struggled to be a person. He struggled to live like a normal person. He'd been dealt blow and blow, death after death. He wouldn't suffer any more, not if I had anything to say about it.

I wasn't allowed to die for that reason.

"How late are we?" Dropping into my seat, I gave a lazy stretch before pushing Kakashi's plate over to his side of the table.

"Three hours."

Nodding, I shovelled a spoonful of beans into my mouth, idly chewing while flicking through the latest report I'd gotten from a clone on my finances. I'd have to make my rounds soon enough in person; there was a hell of a lot of money to donate to different parts of the village again.

"Do you think this team's got a chance at passing the bell test?"

Kakashi snorted, eating his breakfast while I got up to refill his orange juice.

"Not a chance. The second part? Maybe."

Which was Kakashi speak for 'I believe in them'. Well, it was off to a promising start then.

"And what am I doing during this bell test?"

"You are going to sit off to a side and do nothing. I have one bell and I'll be telling them that the one that gets the bell gets to stay a genin. Though I doubt they'll ask, if they do, you can help them. But only if they ask. If they do that, or aid each other, they'll pass." I considered Kiba and Sasuke's personality.

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.

 

As predicted, it didn't happen. Instead, I was sat in the shadow of a tree-stump after watching my two idiot teammates go at a Jonin level shinobi all on their own.

The highlight of the day though had to be Kiba getting struck with the 'Hidden Leaf Ancient Supreme Taijutsu Technique, 1000 Years of Pain'. Yeah, was I pleased that I wasn't canon Naruto. No super powered ass poke for me. Which, considering I'm a girl now, would be a little weird. No, scratch that, it'd be a lot weird.

Kakashi-sensei was currently sat on Kiba, who'd charged him after being informed he should retire as a shinobi and go back to the life of a civilian. Of course, there was a kunai pressed to the Inuzuka's neck, and with Akamaru unconscious, no one would instantly be jumping to his defence. I already knew Kakashi didn't mean it, and I could hear Sasuke's common sense screaming at him not to challenge the scary Jonin.

"Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger. And even get you killed. For example, Sasuke, kill Naruto or Kiba dies. You see, if a hostage is taken, you will have tough choices and one of you could die. You'll be risking your lives as ninja."

Kakashi casually stepped off of Kiba, running a hand through his hair and then smiling.

"You didn't even think to ask your third teammate for help. Naruto-chan has been a ninja for five years, her skill level is much greater than yours, and not only that, she has spent those five years with me. She was a gold mine of information and you just ignored her."

Which kind of hurt. They hadn't even looked in my direction when it came to getting a bell.

"But hey, I'm a nice guy, so I'll give you another chance after dinner. Only, Naruto doesn't get any. That should make this a little harder."

Hang on, he hadn't mentioned me not getting any of the food I'd taken the time to make. Scowling at my oh so manipulative sensei, I folded my arms across my chest and slumped back against the training log.

Kiba had shakily made his way over, carrying the sleeping form of Akamaru with him as he sat down. Kakashi disappeared in a flash of leaves, resulting in two hungry genin sat beside me as they opened bentos I wasn't allowed to touch.

There was a pause, and I instantly realized what the problem was. I'd made Sasuke's bento like I did every other one.

"It's you!" Sasuke's head had snapped around to glare at me, eyes shifting from bento, to me, and then back to bento. "You're Shisui's stupid Bento Fairy!"

Nosing wrinkling at the name because damn it -why had he stuck with that?- I gave a low shrug of my shoulders.

"Shisui-sempai sucks at cooking; I've never let him cook on a mission again since the first time. And seeing as I was making bentos for Kakashi-sensei and myself, it wasn't that much effort to add two more onto my to-do list."

Sasuke scowled, but before he could say anything more, Kiba joined the conversation too.

"You made these?! They're awesome! you even put in little steak slices!"

"You said you liked steak yesterday Kiba-san."

It was in that moment my stomach let out a ferocious growl. I'd made more shadow clones than I probably should have when leaving for the training grounds today, sending them off to complete various tasks and the chores that came with running a stupid empire. Maybe I could pass it off to the Leaf Village to look after now? I was steadily running out of ideas on what to introduce to the whole thing.

"Here." Sasuke was offering his bento box to me.

Blinking slowly, I turned to gauge Kiba's reaction. I needn't have bothered. It was, well, explosive.

"Sasuke you idiot! Didn't you hear what Kakashi-sensei just said?!"

"Don't worry, I don't sense him near here. After lunch, we'll all work together and get the bells. He was right, Naruto knows him the best, and she's been a ninja longer; she'll have more experience when it comes to dealing with him. So she needs to be in top condition for it."

"Tch, fine. Have some of mine too. If we don't open the other box, he'll never know."

Kiba gave a sly grin, wiggling his eyebrows which looked ridiculous under that stupid fur hood of his. While Sasuke had said he couldn't sense Kakashi nearby, I could. And I knew he'd heard every word of it. No doubt waiting until I'd taken my first bite. But before that-

Looking at the two boys, I grinned, grabbing their arms and pulling, so that we were sat closer together.

"I'm glad that out of all the genin I've been lumped with, it's you two. I think we'll make a great team."

And I took a bite.

 

* * *

 

 

"Well Iruka-kun?"

The Chũnin instructor sighed, rubbing at his face with his fingertips, watching in the crystal ball as two of his students passed the infamous bell test.

Kiba was dancing around, the newly revived Akamaru prancing about at his feet. Sasuke looked satisfied, arms folded across his chest and leaning back against the tree stump, while every so often sneaking a mouthful from the, until recently, unopened bento that'd been all but forgotten about in the face of Team Sevens new victory.

But that wasn't what caught his eye.

Instead, it was the blonde girl stood before Hatake Kakashi, a look of complete adoration on her face. It wasn't the same kind of expression poor Sasuke-kun's fans wore, instead it was the face of a younger sibling, looking up to the elder as if they could do no wrong.

Uzumaki Naruto, the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi...

She loved Hatake as if he were blood family. That much was obvious from the way she interacted with him, the way she moved around him and always looked to him whenever she was unsure of something. Like most geniuses he'd seen, she wasn't certain on how to react to other children her age, but she was trying. She was nothing like he'd been expecting, and that made him feel horrible.

He'd been so judgemental, when all she was really striving for was acceptance from the rest of the village. He'd gone up to the academy roof yesterday, just to have a word with Hatake on his apprentice seeing as he'd personally never taught her before. He'd overheard her speaking of her dream, to lessen the hatred in the world. It was a noble goal to aim for, she was so much more mature than what he'd been at that age. So much tougher, and that was because life had made her tough.

And Hatake. Hatake had latched onto the girl just as tightly, though for what reason, Iruka didn't know. Clearly though the Jonin saw her as his own to protect, because when Iruka had pulled him to a side after Team Seven had finished up their introductions and left, the silver haired ninja had clammed up instantly when he'd asked after the girl. He'd only asked if Hatake thought that Naruto would get along well with the boys, to which he'd received an indifferent shrug before a verbal reply.

"It doesn't matter to me. They may be my team, but Naruto is my apprentice. And if they dare start anything with her then I'll finish it if she can't."

Sighing, Iruka pressed his forefinger and thumb into his forehead, slowly moving them about in circles.

"Grandpa! Is Naruto nee-chan finished with her team yet? She promised to spar with me and I've been working super hard!" Sarutobi Konohamaru was one of the students in his new class, and Iruka could only sigh at the sight of the boy before his words registered.

"Konohamaru, did you just call Naruto nee-chan?"

The brown haired boy paused for a moment before responding, head bobbing up and down.

"Yeah Iruka-sensei, Naruto nee-chan is awesome, she's really smart and she's promised to spar with me when I did some training so I trained all of yesterday and I'm totally ready to face her now!"

Iruka doubted that. Uzumaki had been a genin for well over half of Konohamaru's life. It'd take more than a full day of training to catch up to her.

"Konohamaru, Naruto and her team will be busy for the rest of the week. Though I'll pass on the message that you're looking for a friendly spar with her next time I see her, okay?"

There was a small pause, before an affirmative came back.

Yes, he'd definitely judged Uzumaki Naruto wrong. He needed to do a bit of research on his own before forming another opinion. Hopefully, he'd be able to find the time to talk to the girl that, had it not been for her hard work and early graduation, would have been his student too.

 

* * *

Meeting up at the training ground the next day at the time Kakashi-sensei had set but wouldn't be sticking too, I stopped before my two teammates and grinned.

Sasuke and Kiba were both sat on the ground, looking around as if expecting Kakashi to pop up out of the ground should they attempt to leave. To be honest, I wouldn't put it past him.

Tying the second tail of my hair up and tightening it until it was in secure against the top of my skull, I grinned, rocking back on my heels.

"Good morning."

Kiba grinned, Akamaru barking and approaching almost hesitantly.

Crouching down, I held out a hand for the puppy to take a sniff of. I already knew what it's smell, along with my scent. There'd be the smell of bacon and eggs, from my breakfast today, the cool iron of the kunai I'd been handling so far, and the slightest hint of fox. Kakashi had mentioned it, but it'd take a very, very sensitive nose to notice it. A nose Kiba wouldn't have until he was at least sixteen. He might be a tracker, but he wouldn't be good enough to threaten my secret yet.

Akamaru seemed to pause for a second, before happily licking away at my fingers. Giggling at the sensation, I sat down, rubbing at the dog's head and scratching behind his ear.

"I was thinking the three of us could have a talk," I mused, looking between the two boys and noting their interest, "Obviously the two of you attended the academy together, but that doesn't mean you know each other's skill set. I know for fact that Shisui-sempai has some Uchiha moves that you wouldn't have gotten to show off at the academy and I assume that it's the same for the Inuzuka clan?"

"Your right! Akamaru and I have been working extra hard since we graduated! We're gonna be the best!" He was so confident. His first real life and death mission would break that. His first kill would dampen that enthusiasm. It, well, that sadden me I guess.

Neither I or Kakashi were innocent like that, hadn't been for a long time. And Sasuke, Sasuke had seen death too.

"Right, so then, let's say our best skill, like Kakashi-sensei's would be his vast arsenal of Ninjutsu, then your best jutsu, and then a weakness. Inuzuka-kun, want to go first?"

The brunet scowled, folding his arms across his chest and pouting. But after a raised eyebrow, he started talking soon enough.

"I'm great at partner jutsus with Akamaru, and right now our Fang Over Fang Technique is our best. Weakness? Don't really have one." He laughed, but Sasuke and I were frowning.

Before the Uchiha could step in and snap at the boy for being an idiot, which he kind of was, I held up a hand to stop him.

"Inuzuka-kun, everyone has a weakness, from you all the way up to the Hokage. Only by knowing our weakness can we overcome them." He was just a kid. He was allowed to not know this, up until now that was. Because now he was a ninja, childhood had been left behind. Grumbling, Kiba grit his teeth but surrendered an answer.

"I guess I rely on Akamaru too much. And it's Kiba to you!"

"Great, your turn Uchiha-kun." Adjusting my legs until they were crossed before me and thus allowing the adorable white furred puppy to sprawl across them, I focused on Sasuke, waiting for an answer.

"My taijutsu and ninjutsu are on equal ground, but my speed was the best of all the graduates. My best jutsu is the Great Fireball Technique. My stamina and genjutsu could use some work."

Nodding, I leaned back slightly to wiggle a scroll out of my trouser pocket, having to shoo Akamaru from my lap in order to unroll the paper.

"Right, well I was recently acknowledge as a Fūinjutsu specialist, sealing," I expanded, upon seeing Kiba's confused look, "and my chakra levels are the greatest of anyone in the village, so my stamina is insane. My best jutsu is the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, with which I can create three thousand clones when pushed. I'm dreadful at genjutsu because I don't have the chakra control to cast them, and I find it difficult to break them too. Also, I'll never be able to become a user of medical ninjutsu; my chakra is highly toxic to the point of lethality, so if you want a medic on this team, one of you will have to look into it. Kakashi-sensei said we were to be the heavy assault team of your graduating year. Kakashi-sensei is also notorious for always being late, so I was thinking we could spend the morning sparring with one another until he turns up. Is that okay?"

Both Sasuke and Kiba nodded, the former mouthing the words 'three-thousand' with a look of disbelief on his face. For some reason, I feel like I'll struggle to get him to believe me on that without him witnessing it.

"Sparring sounds good, yeah, let's do it! Come on Akamaru!" Kiba leapt to his feet in a burst of energy, and I could feel my chakra begin to buzz beneath my skin in excitement. I was ready to start too. Even Sasuke looked eager.

"And guys! Call me Naruto!"


	5. The C-ranked Mission

The sharp ding of the oven timer echoed through the kitchen and I danced over to my much abused appliance. Shisui's birthday cake was ready.

"Mmmm, is that roast dinner I smell?"

Looking up as Shisui announced his presence, I couldn't help the smile that stole its way across my lips.

"Orange chocolate marble cake too."

Politely ignoring the older ninja's fist pump as he dropped into his customary seat at my kitchen table, I turned back to the oven and slowly began to extract the cake from within. The second the oven door was open, the sweet smell of perfectly baked cake wafted up from within, overpowering the scent of the full roast dinner that my clones were busy dishing up. The cake looked amazing, the fact that the marble had set in such a way that the Uchiha fan was proudly displayed at the top of the cake was by design not luck. I'd worked hard to figure out just how to get the dessert to cook in such a way, so there was no way in hell that I was not going to show off my amazing culinary skills. Even if it was only to a small crowd.

Turning around, I couldn't help but grin at the sight of Kakashi slinking in, ten minutes late, and looking distinctly disgruntled over the fact his seat was most certainly already taken. Kiba didn't seem to realize that he'd, through no conscious effort, snatched up his sensei's seat. Though I knew for sure he'd be getting ran into the ground tomorrow during training in retribution for his unknowing action. Maybe I should have warned him before he took a seat? Regardless, he could only improve with such training, so I'd hold back on voicing my thoughts for now.

As for telling Kakashi off for being late, well Sasuke's glare was enough of a reprimand for that. I didn't really need to voice it. I wouldn't ruin Shisui's birthday by getting on Kakashi's case.

Especially when the Uchiha had turned down a night out drinking with his year-mates in order to spend the evening with his cousin's genin team over a home-cooked meal. While the latter appealed more to me, I understood that it wasn't for everyone, so people liked to go out and socialize through the power of alcohol.

I wasn't going to complain though, I enjoyed Shisui's company, and if this brought my team closer together, then even better.

Leaving the cake on the side to cool, I took my seat, looking over the spread of food on the table and unable to help my smile at the sight we all made. It made me feel warm. Minato and Kushina may have died, my god-father may be a no show, but this right here, these people were my family. I'd found them, I'd made the connections with them and they were mine now.

And I'd anything for them.

Sasuke and Kiba I was still a bit hesitant about, we'd only been a team for a week now, but they were growing quick on me. No matter the fact they constantly butted heads with one another and left me to sort through whatever argument they'd had. They were mine, my team-mates to look after. And look after them I would.

"Well, dig in then."

 

Tightening my grip on the leash in my hand, I couldn't stop the stunned laughter that bubbled up from the cavity of my chest and out of my throat. Chakra swirled around my feet as I was hauled along by one of the largest Inuzuka dogs I'd ever seen.

With Kiba on our team, the three of us -I exclude Kakashi from this because surely he knew what he was signing us up for- had thought we could handle the D-rank missing of walking the Inuzuka dogs.

Instead, we'd all ended up with two giant hounds each, and then we'd been dragged through the mud face first.

Well, Kiba and Sasuke had.

I'd managed to catch myself just in time, applying chakra to my feet in such a way that it acted like a pair of roller-skates. An exceedingly tricky chakra exercise that myself and Neji had come up with on a day which we'd not spent attempting to beat the tar out of each other. With his Byakugan, our shared knowledge on chakra, and my mass reserves, we'd been able to work out a new method of chakra control by the end of the day. It worked in such a way that it appeared we were drifting across any surface, be they horizontal or vertical.

Of course, it took a surprising amount of skill to power your chakra out through your feet in order to propel you forwards. Thankfully, with the dog doing the pulling, I only had to use a trickle of my internal energy to effortlessly glide after the duo of beasts.

That didn't stop the mud that their huge paws dug up from splattering across my face though. Swiping my free hand across my face, I flicked the dirt that came away from my fingertips, letting out another laugh as I sped past Kiba, who had found himself buried beneath the two large hounds he'd been lumped with. It'd been many years since I had ran this many D-ranks before, I'd gotten used to being covered in blood as opposed to mud. Though it seemed Kiba and Sasuke had it even worse than I, what with them having been determined to take the biggest and bulkiest dogs of the pack, which they were now wrestling with.

My lips twitched up at the corners as I skidded past Kakashi, who was nose deep in his usual orange book. However, I was pretty damn sure the source of his giggling was the three of us, not the literature in his hands.  Maybe when I'm older I could start writing some smut for the market and give Jiraiya some competition? Kakashi was probably appreciate it.

As long as I wrote under a pen-name and never told him I was the author.

"Alright team, that's enough for today! Return the hounds and head home. I'll meet you at the usual training ground, seven o'clock sharp."

With a swirl of leaves, Kakashi-sensei was gone and I forced my chakra to change its pattern, digging my heels into the earth and jolting the two dogs to a stop. Thank god I wasn't a fresh genin, otherwise that'd have been a real struggle. The hounds paused, tilting their heads to look at me with those far too intelligent eyes. I could all but see the clogs in their heads spinning about, assessing me.

They realized that I could have stopped them pulling me about at any time I wanted to, but regardless, I'd let them run free for a while. That seemed to be enough to earn their respect, because the duo fell into step with me quickly enough, even more so when I slipped them a dog treat each as I walked over to my teammates.

"You two need any help?"

Sasuke, from where he was wrestling with the large black canine he'd been given frowned slightly, but considering that he was being dragged along, no matter how good his chokehold was or how much he dug his heels into the ground, I already knew the answer.

"Here, try giving them a treat."

 

Skipping down the main street of Konoha, I tilted my head back to look up at the clear sky, a small smile slowly stretching across my face. Until I'd officially become a member of team seven, I hadn't realized how much stress the higher-ranked missions actually wear. Not until it'd all been removed from my shoulders and suddenly I could relax. I had knocked back the number of shadow clones I'd been using, keeping only the absolute minimum that it took to run my little empire, then I'd only left two at home to work on Fūinjutsu today. It was, well, nice.

I didn't realize I'd become so much of an workaholic till now.

Looking back on it, it was kind of terrifying how much stuff I'd had running all at once.

"Uzumaki?"

Snapping my head up at the call,  I twisted around to get a look at the source. Neji was staring back at me, one eyebrow raised and an amused smirk on his face. Of course, I was still covered in mud. It looked like I'd been rolling in it actually, considering how much of it caked my sides.

"Hey there Neji, how was the mission?"

He shrugged, pocketing one hand and stopping just before he'd bump into me.

"My mission was easily completed, though it appears you suffered greatly on your own."

Scowling, I snatched at the bobble on my wrist, retying long blonde hair back in a simple ponytail. It'd fallen out at so point during the dog walking mission and as a result, was in dire need of a wash.

"I forgot how tedious D-rank missions are, it's been so long since I was last on one." I started walking again, listening to Neji snort behind me before he caught up, walking quietly by my side as we made our way down main-street. We got a few looks, probably because Neji the prim and proper Hyūga was walking beside the demon ruffian. Then again, maybe I was just another ruffian, and they couldn't tell it was me under all this mud.

"Do not expect any sympathy on my part, you were unnervingly keen to rub your higher levelled missions in our face during the past year."

Elbowing the Hyūga in the side for his comment, I turned off towards my home, absentmindedly noting that the Hyūga compound wasn't actually that far away from it. At least it explained why Neji had bothered to start walking with me, we needed to take the same path and it'd have been awkward had he not acknowledged me.

"Yeah yeah. But hopefully we'll be back on C-rank missions again soon enough. Even then I've been managing to slip training into the D-ranks. That little chakra exercise we came up with was a great help. I at least managed to stay on my feet instead of being pulled along by those damn dogs."

Sniggering, Neji turned his brilliant white eyes forwards, though the smirk never fell from his face.

"Do you have a name for it yet?"

"Do I? We worked on it together idiot. We both need to come up with a name. What happens if I call it the 'super slue swerve' technique? Your name will be attached to that."

"Do not call it that."

My laugh was loud and victorious at Neji's snapping demand, one hand coming up to rub at the back of my neck in a sheepish manner.

"Well?"

"Just call it that chakra glide technique and be done with it."

Rolling my eyes, because Neji had no appreciation for creativity, I gave a quick bob of my head in recognition.

"Fine, I'll get it all down on a scroll and submit it to the Hokage for approval. Happy Killjoy-sama?"

Neji ignored me, ploughing on with his next point, much to my irritation.

"We need to co-ordinate our days off in order to start up our sparring sessions again."

"Fine, but only if you drop the Uzumaki business and address me by my name. It's Naruto."

Neji stopped, and I skidded to a halt a second behind him. The brunet wasn't quite looking at me, instead staring off to the side slightly, and it took a moment for me to realize we were at his turn-off for the Hyūga compound.

"I have next Thursday off. I expect you to be at Training Nine if you are also free, Naruto." And then he was gone.

Well, at least I'd had some form of success on that front.

 

"Where were you yesterday? Me and Akamaru couldn't find you at all, only one of your stupid clones!"

Looking up at Kiba, I blinked slowly, frowning. Why would he have been looking for me? Ever since team seven had been officially formed, I'd taken to wearing a Fūinjutsu seal that suppressed my scent. Some of the exercises I'd run for my fellow genin had Kiba seeking me alongside Sasuke, training them both in tracking without my scent to aid them. Looks like I'd forgotten to power it down the previous day.

"I was sparring with a friend."

Cocking my head to aside from where I was sat on the thick tree limb, I stared down at a very annoyed Kiba, trying not to smile. Despite his brash ways, the boy grew on you. It was the same with Sasuke. Even if he was quiet, sullen and moody, I'd grown to appreciate it in the fortnight we'd spent together as a team, just like I hoped I'd grown on them. At the very least, they appreciated me for keeping them busy in the mornings.

That and my food. I'd not yet met a person who didn't like my food.

"Who?"

Glancing over at Sasuke, I jumped down onto the clearing floor, brushing down the seat of my pants with one hand and taking a gulp of the last of my green tea with the other.

"Another genin, last year's rookie of the year in fact. His taijutsu is very impressive. So, how about we work on that today?"

Sasuke frowned, but nevertheless stood up and fell into a defensive stance, Kiba following not a second after. I'd been working them on their defence first and foremost. I felt that'd be better for them to know, how to defend against rapid fire and surprise attacks, rather than training them offensively. Because they were going to face opponents better than them and it was more important that they could dodge and block rather than have know how to land a hit, but be too slow or weak to land it.

Yet, maybe it was time for a change today.

"No, you two will be on offence today. Your objective is to pin me. No ninjutsu or genjutsu. Or weapons for that matter. We'll just use our fists today."

Kiba nodded, face breaking out into a grin and even Sasuke was smiling. Not a true happy smile, but a satisfied one nonetheless. Then, they both came at me.

 

Deflecting another blow that would have parried me into Sasuke's path if it'd landed, I flipped Kiba off to a side and turned my gaze westwards, raising a brow at Kakashi. He'd been leaning against that tree for the past ten minutes, observing our fight. Though both of my teammates had been too focused on trying to win against me to take any note of his presence.

Ducking low under Sasuke's sweeping kick, I couldn't help but smirk slightly as I began forming handseals, too quick for either of my teammates to follow. Just as Kiba came at me again with another punch, I flared my chakra to complete the jutsu, substituting myself out.

With Kakashi.

Letting out a squawk of surprise but unable to stop with his forwards momentum, Kiba crash straight into Kakashi, who effortlessly caught his fist, twisted him around and then sent him flying into Sasuke.

"What the hell Naruto! You said Taijutsu only!"

Grinning with far too much teeth on display, I jogged over to the trio, halting beside Kakashi and looking down at the tangle of limbs that was both Sasuke and Kiba.

"I did. Lesson number one of being a ninja. We cheat. As genin, we have to take every advantage we can against a stronger opponent. There is no honour in a fight to the death. Remember that or you'll end up dead."

Kakashi's hand came down on my head, ruffling the short bangs that framed the front of my face.

"Well said Naruto-chan. Right then my cute little genin, today, I have our mission." Throwing a small scroll towards Sasuke, Kakashi once again pulled out his favourite orange book. The message was clear, Sasuke's in charge, you're on your own with this one. Seeing as the scroll was colour coded blue for D-rank mission, I didn't have a problem following Sasuke's orders on this.

"What's the mission? It's gotta be better than walking more Inuzuka hounds," Kiba grumbled, folding his arms, "I do that in my down time."

"Not very successfully," Sasuke muttered under his breath, clearing his throat and ploughing on before the brunet could register the insult, "Missions capture and return Tora the cat." Sounds fun.

 

It wasn't fun. There was a reason that cat was named after a tiger. Sasuke proved to have a level head, creating a brilliant plan that should have worked. We just underestimated our opponent. In the end, Sasuke had just demand I spam the village with shadow clones and retrieve the cat by all means necessary. Subsequently, there were two hundred figures of my likeness scattered throughout the village in the space of five minutes, ducking into alleys, skipping across rooftops and scouring through the trees.

Kiba and Sasuke had both stared, the former letting out a low whistle at the amount before grinning wildly. Because with this number it should have been easy to catch the demon cat.

It wasn't. Not only were Kiba and Sasuke covered in scratches, but so was I.

Clutching the beast of my chest and refusing to let it go -after wrapping it's paws and thus it's claws up in cellophane of course- I stood between Kiba and Sasuke before the Hokage.

"That was not a D-rank mission," Sasuke hissed under his breath and I couldn't help but nod. I'd never snicker at Neji again. I had thought Tenten was exaggerating when she described this mission that kept popping up, but I take it all back. Never again. If Kakashi picked this mission out for us, then I was going home. He could be left to deal with it next time.

Passing the cat off to Madam Shijimi, I couldn't help but smirk at the sight of the little beast getting crushed to the woman's chest. It was very satisfying to witness, even as Kiba gave a wince of empathy beside me. Sasuke however held no sympathy for the little demon, as was his right. That cat had ruined his perfect plan that should have gone off effortlessly. He had a right to be angry.

"Congratulations team seven, on another job well done." The Hokage was sat behind his desk, puffing away on his pipe. The scent of smoke filled the air and I coated my lungs with chakra, a little something I'd picked up from Kakashi. It stopped any toxins we breathed in from getting absorbed by our lungs, something which was quite helpful for any ninja with a fire affinity. Sasuke had probably been taught it too now that I think about it. Even if the Kyūbi would probably deal with any toxins I could possibly inhale.

"-babysitting the elder's grandson, shopping in the neighbouring village, and help with the potato digging."

 "No! No! No! No thank you!" Kiba's loud cry of denial had me cringing slightly, stepping away from the Inuzuka. "I want to do a real mission! A better one! Especially after the one we just had!"

"You idiot! You are just a rookie!"

Eyeing the dark haired ninja beside the Hokage, I frowned slightly. Iruka had been the sensei to these two while they were at the academy, and while I'd never actually met the man, I had a lot of respect for him, dealing with a class as he did in addition to putting up with my two teammates. Yeah, that took a special kind of patience.

One Kakashi didn't seemed to have, judging by how he bonked Kiba on the top of his head and sent the genin crashing to the floor.

"Quiet you."

"The dobe's right." Sasuke had folded his arms, eyes narrowed but he was looking at the rest of us considering. "These missions are useless. We can handle a C-rank, especially when we have Naruto, she's run higher missions already."

Giving a low sigh, the Hokage tugged down on the brim of his hat, sighing to himself as he did so. Another plume of smoke rose from the pipe between his lips, before finally he gave a slow nod.

"I'll give you a C-rank, it's the protection of a certain individual, I'll introduce him now."

I could already smell the alcohol that was seeping out from between the door and it's frame. It was strong, an alcoholic then. He'd visited the bar in the past twelve hours at least. No, wait, it was stronger than that. He -and it was certainly a masculine scent under all of that- had to be carrying some form of liquor on him right now.

The door was pushed open and the four of us got a good look at our client. He was overweight, with white hair and a poor disposition. He was also drinking at eleven o'clock in the morning. Compared to some of the nobles that Kakashi and I had escorted on B-ranks, a client like this was what brought it all back to me, that I'd be stuck on mission like this until Kiba and Sasuke built up more experience. Or until I hit Chũnin. One or the other.

"They're a bunch of brats! Especially the shortest one with the dollface. Are you really ninja?" It wasn't hard to guess who the shortest was, especially when lumped with the label 'dollface'. While Sasuke might be able to pull off such a title, he was taller than me by a handful of inches. There was no way he was referring to Sasuke.

"I assure you client-san, I am indeed a ninja. And if you do not feel reassured by our presence, then the fact that Kakashi-sensei, who has successfully completed over a thousand missions, is accompanying us should provide you with that comfort." Giving a low dip of my head, I twisted on heels as Kakashi ordered us to meet by the Village gates, plans running through my mind as the bridge builder gave us his name before we split up. Tazuna. Which, if I remembered correctly, meant that this was the start of the Wave arc.

And so the epic saga begins.

 

Lugging the thick scroll over my shoulder, I waited for a second before hearing the satisfying click of the roll slotted into place on the specially designed holder that was wrapped around my waist. I had bought the harness for travelling a year ago, it wrapped around my waist and allowed for a thick scroll to be carried on my back, but didn't hinder any movements I made, nor did it weigh too much. So much easier than carrying a back-pack everywhere. The paper inside was also covered in Fūinjutsu seals, holding all of my equipment that I'd need for a long term mission. So much more efficient.

Making sure my hair was up, tied tightly so that there was no way in hell it'd be coming undone during my mission, I took a left turn from the market place, pocketing one hand as the gates of Konoha came into view.

Already everyone but Kakashi was present, Kiba grinning wilding as both he and Akamaru took a look around. Even Sasuke seemed curious.

Of course, with the two of them belonging to clans they had never really been outside of Konoha. Taking untrained clan kids outside of the village walls was just asking for them to be kidnapped. We had enough trouble looking after everyone inside, and even then there were still attempts, regardless of the amount of time that'd passes since there'd last been a try. The threat was always still there. With Sasuke being one of only two Uchihas and thus, wielder of the Sharingan, and Kiba being the son of the head of his clan, neither of them would have been allowed anywhere near the gates, never mind get through them.

The headbands weren't just for show, it was a statement that pretty much said 'yes, this clan child is good enough to protect the bloodline outside of Konoha'. A risky statement, but everyone had to start somewhere, right?

"Naruto! Where's your pack?" Kiba's head was cocked to a side, Akamaru copying the action. The duo were actually quite adorable what with their matching interactions, and I couldn't resist slipping the white furred puppy a dog treat. Ever since I'd been placed on this team with Kiba as a teammate I'd taken to carrying a few around in my pocket. And while the crumbs were irritating to dig out of the material, it was worth it to see that little puppy happy.

"Everything I could need is sealed inside the scroll on my back. I know when we first got together as a team I told you I was a Fūinjutsu specialist, the first one since the Fourth." That had Sasuke's attention.

Kiba was blinking rapidly, sharing a look with Akamaru before turning his gaze back to me.

"The Fourth Hokage was a seal dude like you? But I thought that he was the Yellow Flash?"

Rolling my eyes, I hooked my thumbs into the edges of my pants pockets, slouching forwards slightly and ignoring Tazuna's grumble over the wait for Kakashi.

"The Flying Thunder God was a seal. The Fourth didn't just use a jutsu to move so fast, it's a space-time ninjutsu that uses seals to their maximum potential. It's also how he beat the Kyūbi, through seals. His expertise on seals meant he was the only ninja in history to receive a flee on sight order. There was just no beating him. Fūinjutsu is also the reason why Uzushiogakure was destroyed in the second ninja war. It was actually the home of my ancestors the Uzumaki. Their knowledge of sealing was legendary, and that's why Kumo and Kiri destroyed the place."

Sasuke and Kiba both shared an uncomfortable look, and even Tazuna seemed a bit less loud than before, his complaints of Kakashi now lowered to quiet mutterings instead of the audible grunts they'd been before.

"So what, you're trying to get as good as the Fourth?" After a moment's silence, Kiba continued onwards with his line of questioning, seemingly quite interested. It was strange. Not even Team Gai were aware of how deep I was diving into Fūinjutsu. They just knew I could create storage scrolls. Something Tenten took ruthless advantage of, seeing as it saved her a great deal of money, getting them free from me instead of buying from a shinobi store. It was, nice to have someone so interested.

"I want to be better than the Fourth. I'm nowhere near his skill level yet. But I'm already the most knowledgeable genin on the subject, and I'm pretty sure there are few Chũnin who know better than me. A lot of its self study though, so it's difficult to compare." I cut off, turning to look towards the village upon sensing Kakashi. But, that wasn't all.

Right on the edge of my awareness, dancing between where I could sense and where I could not, were two chakra signatures. Compared to the vast majority of the Konoha population, they didn't feel warm, didn't feel like home. Instead, I got the sensation of being underwater, as if the source was submerged beneath a pool and I was having to sense through the liquid. From Kakashi's suddenly sharp gaze upon his arrival, he'd felt it too.

Sharing a look, we both turned to the rest of our company, smiling. It was best to see what the two were after. Clearly it was one amongst us, that Kakashi knew. I on the other hand, knew it was Tazuna.

Which meant I had to keep myself focused and make sure neither Kiba, Sasuke or Kakashi got nicked by those poisoned blades. Because unlike me, they couldn't bleed it out and heal over instantly. If Kiba or Sasuke got cut, then it would kill them. Kakashi, being both an adult and a long term ninja, would have a somewhat immunity to poison, so it'd probably only put him out of commission for a bit. In fact, when I'd asked around I'd found out most ninjas slowly desensitized themselves to poison as their careers went on, it was just another advantage to have against an opponent. I on the other hand, didn't need to do that, seeing as the fox in my stomach would burn off anything that threatened my life. My metabolism was ridiculously high, so little would actually stop me when it came to poison.

As far as I was aware, I could heal anything short of losing a limb. So I'd just have to make sure to avoid those kind of wounds.

 

Casually walking alongside Sasuke, I kept one ear on Kakashi's voice as he patiently explained the lack of ninja in Wave, the rest of my senses on high alert since noticing the two presences that were tailing us.

We'd been walking for two hours now, and still only myself and Kakashi were aware of the fact we were being followed. Twice they'd just slunk in and out of my range, close enough that I'd been able to confirm that they were around Chũnin level. Easy enough for Kakashi to deal with on his lonesome, even protecting the four of us as he would no doubt do. I was still tense though, still waiting for the ambush that I knew would be fast approaching us.

Sure enough, into the third hour of our journey, an innocent looking puddle lay in the middle of the dirt path. Which would be so much more innocuous were it not for the fact it hadn't rained at all in the past three days. The subtle tap of Kakashi's fingernails against my shoulder let me know, in code, that he was going to hide, to find the true motives, and to not worry about it. I trusted the man, so I adjusted my scroll, giving him the thumbs up behind my back as I did so.

We passed the puddle and kept walking. I could feel the flare of chakra as the men behind us began to rise out of the puddle. There was no way Kakashi didn't notice that, he was going to be fine. And right now, I needed to defend the bridge-builder.

The clanking of chain links against one another was all the noise I needed to turn around, hands flying together into the seal for shadow clones even as Kakashi appeared to be caught in the length of chain and tore apart. Blood splattered across the floor and through the power of multitasking, I took a moment to appreciate Kakashi's finesse with Genjutsu even as seven clones shimmed into existence beside me. For a ninjutsu expert, he was damn fine at genjutsu too. It was a subtle art, and maybe the fact I'd never be able to use it myself meant I had more of an appreciation for it as a result.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Kiba cry of shock echoed around between my ears and I grit my teeth, twisting on heels as the demon brother's appeared, one stood to my left and the other on my right. They'd seen me create the shadow clones, they knew which one was the original. Well, it was a damn good thing the clones were there to make sure Tazuna stayed the hell out of the way.

Slamming my hand into Tazuna's shoulder, I sent him flying back and away from the Demon Brothers and their chain, only clocking the fact he'd been caught by a trio of clones with a half-hearted amount of interest. The thud of a kunai hitting the tree drew my attention and I smirked. While I'd defended the client Sasuke had pinned the chain to one of the trees lining the dirt path, stunting the brothers' once fluid movement for a second as they were forced to detach themselves. The two went wide around Sasuke, who's head snapped up to follow their momentum but was still righting himself from his landing.

I spun, and was startled to notice that Kiba hadn't stayed put as he should have done when my clone told him to do so. He was suppose to stay with the clones as defence with Tazuna, because right now, myself and Sasuke were the best offensive fighters with the absence of Kakashi. But he'd shot off to take on one of the brothers on his own, leaving Tazuna with only a guard of popable clones between him and the other brother.

Already knowing Kakashi would get the brother going for the client, I shot forwards, pushing Kiba out of the way of a poisoned claw in time to take a scratch to my upper arm, earning the brother a hiss of displeasure. Twisting my body around, I summoned up a paralysis seal pumped full of chakra that I'd never be able to waste in a fight that wasn't already over, slamming it down on the still extended forearm of the nuke-nin. He was out like a light, as if the strings that held his puppet like body had been severed, leaving him with no strength to stand on his own.

Slowly standing up, I bent my arm to a side, inspecting the poisoned cut. Already the skin around the wound was discoloured, blood leaking down and curving around the taunt muscle of my upper arm, even as the flesh sizzled and began healing over.

' _Thank you_ '.

"Maa, everything okay Naruto-chan?"

Wiping the blood from my limb, I lifted my blue gaze till it fell on Kakashi, who had the remaining unconscious brother in a headlock, looking no the worse for wears. Not a speck of dirt or drop of blood on him.

"I'll be fine sensei." Snapping my glare on Kiba, who instinctively shrunk back, I was unable to help the small growl that vibrated at the back of my throat from slipping out.

"I don't care how it looks. The second it seemed like Kakashi was dead, I had seniority of this team. I ordered you to stand guard with Tazuna. I am the best at combat here because I have experience and thus, am less likely to make a reckless mistake like charging a poison wielding Chũnin. It's insulting that you think he could have got past me and that you could do a better job, it implies a lack of trust and because of that I was injured. Had it been anyone else, anyone who didn't have my immunity for poison, I'd be dead now. You'd be dead if I'd let you take that attack."

Stalking over to Kakashi's side, I pulled out a small slip of paper from the pouch that rested on my hip, slapping the chakra prevention seal onto the forehead of Kakashi's catch. It was only a field seal, one that wouldn't last more than three hours. But enough time for a fellow Konoha ninja to retrieve the demon brothers and take them back to Konoha. To either be ransomed back to Kiri -who would be quite happy for their heads- or to be interrogated by our friends up in T&I.

"Their claws were poisoned, are you sure you're okay Naruto?"

Looking up at Kakashi-sensei, I gave a low grin, rubbing at the back of my neck as the older ninja took a gentle hold of my injured arm, turning it until he could get a good look at the slash that was rapidly disappearing from my skin. I could feel the temperature of my body heating up as the Kyūbi took it upon himself to sweat the poison out. This was going to be an uncomfortable half hour.

"I'm fine, sweating it out already. He'll take care of it." I whispered the last part, watching as Kakashi's single coal eye narrowed before he nodded, turning his attention back to Tazuna. I already knew what was coming, so instead focusing upon making sure my scroll had remained in the same place. Luckily enough, it had.

"Are you okay?"

Pursing my lips, I turned to Sasuke, who while quite obviously watching our sensei tie the prisoners up, was still clearly addressing me.

"I will be, I'll have sweated it out in the next half hour or so. Only the quickest and most fatal poisons could have a chance at killing me, this is nowhere near strong enough."

Sasuke grunted, stuffing his hands into his pocket as Tazuna's explanation came bursting out of his drunken form, leaving Kiba sniffling slightly and Kakashi frowning.

"We should keep going Kakashi-sensei. We've already started the mission and I can't accept that we'd leave an old man to die in the woods like this. You're a Jonin and I've ran enough B-rank missions to deal with any more Chũnin they try throwing at us. We've faced worse odds than this." Something in my eyes must have said we should continue onwards, because Kakashi gave a nod, even if he did sigh at the same time.

"Okay Naruto-chan, we'll continue onwards. But Sasuke, Kiba. You will follow every order we give to a 't'. Is that understood?"

"Yes sensei!" Kiba nodded vigorously, cheeks suspiciously red as he trudged over to join the four of us.

"Well, let's get a move on then."

 

Three days. Three glorious days of uninterrupted travel. While he'd complained all of the first day, right up until the attempted assassination on his person, Tazuna had been almost silent since then. I'd been put in charge of cooking all of our meals, seeing as I was the only one that'd thought ahead enough to bring some sauces and seasonings for whatever game we caught, something that all of team seven sincerely appreciated.

Currently, the five of us were just finishing off the last of our meal, stew with roasted rabbit, which Kiba had happily caught and handed over. We were approaching the edge of the banks now, a small boat that Tazuna had arranged waiting for us.

"Naruto?"

Looking over at Kiba, I raised an eyebrow, hoping that it would be enough of an incentive for him to continue talking. It was.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to your orders okay! I panicked and didn't think."

"It's fine Kiba-kun. Just try to remember next time that I know what I'm doing when I tell you to do something. I've been running missions for five years, so please trust in my judgement."

"Yeah, I get it, you're awesome."

Grinning, I elbowed the boy in the side, consequently pushing him out of the way and allowing me to get on the boat before him.

"Hey!"

"Keep quiet Kiba-kun, consider this an infiltration mission from here on out."

The Inuzuka nodded, narrowing his eyes and scanning the thick fog that'd rolled in over the ocean. Kakashi was the last to climb in the boat behind us, settling down on the wood that would allow the best vantage point that was possible on the small craft.

"Does poison really not affect you?"

Glancing at Kiba, who'd actually followed my instructions and was now whispering, I offered him a shallow nod, not bothering to look around. Kakashi was a far better sensor than I was at this moment in time, he'd alert us if there was any danger coming our way. We probably wouldn't be attacked until we reached the mainland, that was how I remembered it anyway.

"That's correct. I've never suffered any form of illness. The Uzumaki were well known for their longevity, though my own immune system and healing progress surpasses even that."

"Why?"

Looking up at Sasuke, I bit my lip, glancing away when my eyes met his.

"I'm afraid I can't say Uchiha-san. It's an S-ranked secret that only I or the Hokage can inform others of, and even then you have to have your history checked and cleared by the higher ups. While that has already been done for the both of you, I hope you understand that I don't feel comfortable talking about it right now."

Giving a jerky nod, Sasuke leant back against the wood of the boat, his mouth straight in a thoughtful frown, eyebrows gravitating towards one another above the bridge of his nose.

"It's Sasuke. You'll get mixed up with Shisui if you keep that up."

It didn't need to be pointed out that I already addressed Shisui by his given name. This was Sasuke's way of offering me the courtesy of his given name with which to address him by, without making it seem like he was being nice. Small smile tugging at my lips, I made a motion of understanding.

"As I've already said, it's Naruto to you then. Sasuke-san or Sasuke-kun?"

"Just Sasuke." He'd grimaced at the latter term and I couldn't help but give a teasing smirk. Instantly Sasuke realized I'd done it on purpose and he scowled, kicking my shin. But it was a gentle reprimand, one that had me snickering under my breath.

"And I've told you already it's Kiba for me." Kiba snapped playfully, cheerfully returning the elbow jab I'd given him to the side earlier. Clearly he'd been waiting for the perfect opportunity to do so, and the returning swat to the back of the head didn't stop him at all from chuckling under his breath. Yes, my teammates were several different shades of brilliant, that much was obvious.

"The mist is getting thicker," Sasuke murmured, dark eyes scanning the water's surface with a thoughtful frown on his face, hands clenched around one another. Kiba and Akamaru gave a grunt of agreement.

"We should see the bridge soon."

"Good, I've got a vested interest in seeing the bridge completed." There was a pause at my statement and I felt my ears burn. Damn, I'd not meant to say that aloud.

"Maa, that's right. You've been trying to break into Wave's market for a while, right Kaichō-chan?"

Groaning, I flopped forwards, elbows resting on my knees and head cradled in my hand. Yet I could still feel the questioning gaze of everyone that wasn't Kakashi burning into my skull, so without raising my head, I explained.

"Just after I graduated from the academy, I was short on cash. As a new ninja, I stopped getting the Konoha orphan fund and had to manage on my own. Difficult, but not impossible. With the amount of shadow clones I can make, I went about learning how to carve stuff, and then started selling it. From the money, I had the clones and as a result, me, learn all sorts of new stuff. Completely by accident, I ended up founding the underground market in Konoha. Those radical cookbooks that everyone loves? I wrote those. I nearly ran some of the civilians in Konoha out of business before I toned it down, even ended up running a restaurant."

The familiar weight of Kakashi's hand coming down on shoulder offered a comfort I wasn't sure I'd get if I looked up at my teammates reaction to the news.

"Maa, the reason Konoha is so prosperous right now is because almost all of the money Kaichō-chan has made off her little hobby has been funnelled into the village. The hospital and academy have never had so much money. It's because of her funding that the Jonin lounge was refurbished and we even got a second one built. Not only has Naruto made a lot of friends high-up who are in the know about her little hobby, but she's singlehandedly brought more money into the Leaf than any other ninja before her."

There was stone cold silence as I sat there, and finally I could take no more and I had to lift my head up. Tazuna was staring at me like he'd suddenly seen what I actually was, and not the 'short dollface' description he'd dumped upon me. Kiba and Sasuke... Well, they were both staring, eyes wide with wonder.

"You're rich," Kiba muttered, blinking slowly, as if he couldn't quite remember how to complete the action. Even Akamaru seemed to have understood what was being discussed, and had seemingly come to the conclusion I could obviously buy more dog treats and thus, should be liberated of the ones I currently have, if his nose pressed up against my pocket was any indication.

"Not rich, I got enough money to buy a house and put a good chunk in bank, but everything else goes to the village. I don't need a lot."

Kakashi's hand rubbed against my skull in a brilliant display of sensei pride, the boat we were sat on coming to a slow stop beside a rickety looking dock.

"Right then, let's get going."

 

My hands were shaking. I knew what, or rather who, was coming up next. I knew that I had the skill set required to release Kakashi-sensei should he get captured by the enemy.

But that didn't stop my hands from shaking.

I was nervous, twitchy as a post-war Jonin. Sasuke and Kiba hadn't seemed to have noticed, but Kakashi-sensei most certainly hand. Dark grey eye was swimming with understanding. To him, I was nervous about the fact we were going to be going up against a ninja stronger than the Demon Brothers. Seeing as the last high level ninja fight I'd been in had left me fatally wounded, the kind of blow that had I been anyone else I'd not have got back up from such an attack.

That might have added onto the tension in my shoulders, but mainly I was focused on the lot of us getting out of this alive.

Which was perhaps why the second a chakra signature registered in my mind I threw a kunai first without thinking about anything else. There was a slick sounding thud at the kunai cut through skin and then embedded itself on the tree bark, but already I knew it hadn't been a human I'd hit. Substitution then.

Ignoring Sasuke's questioning look and Kiba's vocal doubts, I pushed the greenery aside, focusing on the white rabbit that was now covered in its own blood. Well, at least we were good for dinner.

"It's white, but that's not in season for a snow rabbit," muttering under my breath, I quickly went about sealing the rabbit, not only could we possibly find a trace of our enemy on it, but as the rest of the team knew I made a damn good stew.

Stretching my senses outwards, I caught the sharp whirl of the blade heading towards us and swore under my breath, shooting forwards.

"Get down!"

Snatching Kiba and Tazuna's arm, I pulled them down to the earth with me, Sasuke following a split second afterwards. Just in time too, because a blade went shooting over our heads in a series of perfectly formed circles, finally ending its journey by slamming as deep as my forearm into the tree trunk. Kakashi-sensei was already up and on his feet in the face of this new threat, assessing him.

"Our focus is Tazuna, Kakashi-sensei will deal with this. He's beyond our league."

Zabuza cut an impressive figure, stood casually upon the hilt of his humongous blade, long ties of his head-band fluttering about in the almost nonexistent wind. It was as if time had slowed down specifically for this battle, the undergrowth was quiet, and the wild animals knew better than to attempt to get better these two predators, because they'd just get caught and killed in the crossfire. With no shirt on, it was impossible not to take note of the hard won muscles that Zabuza flaunted. There was no doubt enough power in those arms to rip us genin in half, a thought that would have terrified me had I been on my own.

However, after Kakashi, I was the next most experienced ninja in our team, and as such, it'd fall to me to sacrifice myself for Sasuke and Kiba to escape should Kakashi go down. But he wouldn't. Our sensei was too strong for that, that much I was sure of.

"You appear to be Sharingan Kakashi... Sorry, but the old man is mine." The deep timber of Zabuza's voice resounded around the little clearly he'd cornered us in, an effect that was no doubt intended but did nothing but tighten my nerves.

Already I had a kunai in one hand to block any on coming weapons, my other hand free and ready to slap a seal on anything that came too close. Meanwhile, I could practically hear Sasuke screaming internally about the Kakashi's nickname, all the questions he had to have. Clearly Shisui hadn't told his little cousin anything.

 

At Kakashi's orders, we tightened around Tazuna, each of us holding a kunai out before our bodies in a loose triangle formation. As Zabuza and Kakashi traded comments back and forth, I kept my focus on the upcoming attack, already well aware that the distraction technique had worked on both Kiba and Sasuke. Sasuke no doubt wondering how an outsider got his family's bloodline limit, and judging by the Kiba's posture, the Inuzuka had realized just how famous Kakashi-sensei was, how powerful a Jonin and how damn lucky he was to have him as a sensei.

The attack came the second Kakashi finished giving us a little background on Zabuza and what he could expect from this fight. A tactic to build the tension, but an extremely effective one.

Gritting my teeth as killer intent was all but poured over the lot of us, it took me a second to realize that Kakashi couldn't flood the place with his own killer intent to break it because he was too busy keeping track of Zabuza's movements. He needed his concentration. Which meant-

' _They call this guy the demon of the mist... Wanna show him a real demon's killer intent?_ ' I'd barely even finished my question before it exploded out of me, suffocating Zabuza's own and pressed down so heavy that I could even feel it myself, something which shouldn't be possible at all.

' _Thanks_ '.

There was a lull in activity as all the ninja present adjusted, Kakashi to the sudden tailwind I'd gifted him by beating Zabuza's latest mental attack back, and Sasuke and Kiba trying to adjust to this friendly killer intent that wasn't directed at them. Zabuza's reaction, that were the strangest one. He was quiet for a few seconds, before he began to laugh. And laugh loudly.

"Oh, it seems the little genin can play. After I'm done with the old man and your precious sensei, you're next."

 

It was a blur from there on out, even if I was a very good genin, I wasn't at the point where I could keep up with the movements of two Jonin in a high stakes fight. They moved as quick as they could, and while I could probably see a lot more than Sasuke and Kiba, I was still blind to what was going on for the vast majority of the fight. I only caught quick little snippets, between ducking a blow and knocking Tazuna aside.

Eventually though, we came to the standoff I remembered from a black and white manga book a life time again. Kakashi-sensei caught in a water prison. And while there was a chakra control exercise that let you regulate your breathing in such a way that you could remain underwater for ten minutes, that didn't stop the worry that stabbed through me.

"Take Tazuna and run!"

Frowning, I reached back unclipping my scroll and letting one end drop to the floor with a solid thump, my palm resting upon the top of the shaft.

"Kakashi-sensei, you know as well as I do that no matter how far we run, we'll still get chased. I refuse to see your death like this. Releasing you, is our only hope."

Unwinding the bandages on my forearms, I let them flutter to the floor, revealing the multitude of seals and covered the skin which would be otherwise hidden away.

"Kiba, you're on Tazuna guard duty, Sasuke, distant support. You are not in any circumstances to get closer than what you are now, understood?"

"Yes."

Adjusting my stance, I turned to look at the water clone that Zabuza had summoned before calling fourth a dozen or so of my own, leaving two beside Sasuke and two with Kiba.

"Oooh, shadow clones. That's good for a genin."

Snorting, I shot forwards, using the recently named chakra glide technique to hone in on clone Zabuza before sending a spike of chakra into one of the seals on my arm. Then, I clenched my eyes shut.

Even in that state, the bright flare of sealed sunlight stung my eyes, burning. I hate to think how it'd have been had I been looking at the seal, as the water clone would no doubt have done, cautious of what was coming out of the seal. It'd clearly not been expecting sunlight.

I'd come up with the idea after waking up from a long night to get an eyeful of sunshine. If that's what a rude awakening was like, a concentrated blast of the stuff was the perfect distraction. It'd taken a week's of intense concentration to seal light directly from the sun away, and it was only good for one use, but damn did it work.

Everyone let out a cry of pain around me, but no more so than the clone as I slammed a kunai into its ribs, liquid gushing out and hitting the floor with a wet splat. It was only a tenth of Zabuza's power, but still, it was down.

"Now Sasuke!"

The Uchiha leapt into the air, drawing his windmill shuriken from his backpack, twisting around before throwing the blade forwards. Okay, so maybe I'd stolen the idea from the original Naruto, only there was no way in hell I was personally going on there. Instead, it was a henged clone that threw the kunai at Zabuza, transforming back from the second windmill shuriken.

And thus, Kakashi was released. We were safe.

For now.

 

It was a beautiful thing, to witness one's sensei completely thrash another Jonin. Kakashi just had a finesses about him in his battle with Zabuza, every movement was polished, refined, and completely focused on making Zabuza pay.

From where the three of us stood guarding Tazuna, we got to witness the entire thing, from the prison release right up to the finish. The finish that included Haku swooping in and saving his much beloved sensei and then teleporting out. Kiba's reaction had promised to be brilliant regarding the hunter nin, but he never even got to start.

Instead, Kakashi-sensei managed to offer us a few words, before he fell forwards, flat on his face and out cold. Chakra exhaustion.

Rolling my eyes skywards, I straightened out of my defensive crouch, making my way over and kneeling beside the silver haired man's slumbering from.

"He's exhausted from the fight. Sasuke, Kiba, you two are on Tazuna watch. I have the best stamina out of the three of us, I'll carry him." Summoning up another clone, I got a hold of Kakashi's legs, noting the man had to be really out of it to not respond to someone grabbing hold of him in such a way.

This was the exact reason why I had to work on those chakra storage seals. If I actually had one working, Kakashi could have just broken it, reabsorbed his chakra and been on his way now. I still wasn't good enough, if I'd gotten more work done on the seal, then it'd be done by now and Kakashi would have been able to use it. Growling under my breath and swearing that the seal would be the first project to get finished upon my return to Konoha, I began trudging forwards, Kakashi held awkwardly between the two of us.

"Your house better not be too far from here Tazuna-san."

 

Thankfully, it wasn't.

Knelt on the floor beside the small bedspread they'd managed to spare for Kakashi-sensei, I let out the breath that'd been pressing down on my lungs since he'd gone under. We were safe, we had a base of some sorts and Zabuza wouldn't be recovering for a while.

Running a hand through my hair which, despite my best intentions had broken free of its bounds, I created a pair of shadow clones, silently sending them to complete a perimeter check.

"You're looking peaked kid."

Blinking slowly, I turned to focus on Tazuna, briefly noting my limbs were still shaking with adrenaline.

"Maybe I am."

Was I tired? As a ninja, I could go for days without food or rest, but as a person, did I want to? No, I did not.

Blinking rapidly in an attempt to bring moisture back into my eyes, I drew my scroll from my back, flicking it open and releasing one of the seals. Instantly a selection of sweets was offered up before me, several different flavours of dango, several bars of chocolate, even some bubble gum.

Picking up a bar, I resealed everything, taking a bite of the deep brown bar and trying not to let out a moan of appreciation. It seemed like it'd been a while since I'd had any chocolate, but in reality, only a week had passes since I'd last eaten it.

Tazuna seemed to realize I was at my daily conversational limit, for he gave a low nod, turning on his heels and heading out of the large room we'd been put up in.

Kiba was flat out, stretched across his sleeping quarters with Akamaru snoozing beside him, each clearly as tired as the other and attempting to take up as much space as they could.

Taking another bite of the sugary treat in my hands, I turned my gaze back to the window, scanning the forest outside once again. One clone popped after completing it's search, the other going up to sit on the roof of Tazuna's home in order to keep an eagle eye on the surroundings. It was always best to have a watch, but I didn't want to leave Kakashi-sensei's side in his current situation, so I'd have to make do with a clone. It's not like I wouldn't be alerted if something were to happen.

"Naruto."

Snapping to attention, I bit my lip to stop myself from cursing under my breath. I should have noticed Sasuke's entrance, if not sensed him then at the very least heard him. The dark haired pre-teen was staring at me, an unreadable look on his face as he sat down beside him, eyes trailing over to look at Kakashi's sleeping form.

"You're tired."

"I am." There was no point in denying it really, it was obvious the second he managed to sneak up on me.

"Get some sleep, I'll take first watch."

I opened my mouth, ready to protest, but a surprisingly server Uchiha death glare stopped me in my tracks.

"Earlier you said to Kiba that it was insulting for him to not trust you. Look at your own words, then get some sleep."

Scowling, I snatched up the blanket that our blushing host Tsunami had provided, trudging over to where Sasuke was now leaning against the wall. I dropped down to sit beside him, leaning back against the wall and throwing the blanket over the both of us.

"Wake me up at two, I'll take the worst shift tonight, I'm used to it." The order that was supposed to be strict was broken apart halfway through by a yawn, but I forced myself to finish my words anyway, eyelids already feeling heavy. I felt bad about letting Sasuke stay away on watch while I, as the senior genin, should be the one to do so. But I was just so damningly tired. I'd been stressed all the way here and with Kakashi unconscious, I didn't feel safe in this strange new place.

Yet, yet I trusted Sasuke to wake me up the second he noticed something was wrong.

"Will do."

I feel asleep to the steady breathing of my teammate.

 

* * *

 

 

When he'd first learnt that he was being placed on a team, Sasuke's only thought was that they would slow him down. But, that wasn't the case here.

Kiba, despite his brash and loud attitude, was good at taijutsu and his clan jutsu, he'd certainly be skilled enough if he dropped all of his awful personality traits. But that was a thought for another time.

No, what'd worried Sasuke was the fact that, statistically, there had to be a girl on his team. He'd dreaded Sakura or Ino or Ami, dreaded being stuck with one of those useless fan girls and fully expected to have to carry their weight as well as his own when it came to the team. And yet...

He'd been surprised.

As it turned out, the Kunoichi on his team had actually been a ninja for longer than what he'd been in the academy. She'd been Kakashi's apprentice from a young age, and clearly looked up to the man, in a way that Sasuke could only relate to. He just hoped her big brother figure wouldn't be so much of a disappointment as what his had been.

Naruto was skilled, he wouldn't deny it. She was good at taijutsu and ninjutsu, able to spar with both himself and Kiba at the same time and still win. Fūinjutsu was suppose to be her best area, and from what little he'd seen so far, he could imagine why. That seal she'd used against the Zabuza clone, the bright light, would be a powerful attack against anyone with a Dōjutsu. It was actually a terrifying thought. Though it'd only create a temporary opening, sometimes, that was all that was needed in a fight.

Certainly it'd be effective against the Sharingan... Maybe she'd teach that one to him when they had time?

A weight settled on his shoulder and Sasuke stiffed, well aware that had it been any other female sat next to him, he'd have been halfway across the room retreating by now.

But no, Naruto was out cold, her tanned nostrils flaring slowly as she inhaled and then exhaled in cute little puffs of breath. One long strand of blonde hair had fallen down from the messy bun she'd thrown it up in, obviously tickling her nose from the way she was constantly twitching.

Smirking, Sasuke turned his attention to the open window, the moonlight drifting in and brushing across the sleeping form of their sensei.

Kakashi and Naruto were obviously quite close, and in the first week or so, Sasuke had been jealous, believing her to be the favourite. That Kakashi was teaching her all his best jutsu while he left the two of them in the dust. It wasn't until Shisui's birthday that he'd really realized why they were so close.

Naruto was an orphan. It was evident because despite her beautiful home, there were no pictures of happy parents smothering their genius child. Instead, there were only two things sat on the mantel, two pictures. One was of Kakashi and Naruto, obviously not long after the two had become student and sensei judging by how small Naruto looked in the picture.

The second, the second one was of team seven. Naruto stood in the middle with a cheerful grin on her face, both himself and Kiba flanking her and Kakashi leaning over all their forms in all of his tall Jonin glory.

Naruto was an orphan, she only had connections to others through the bonds she herself made. Kakashi and Shisui she appeared to be on pretty good terms with, along with the Hokage and a team from the previous year, who he'd yet to meet but heard from Kakashi that Naruto spent the odd off day sparring with them.

And then, then there was Kiba and him. Naruto was clearly still cautious, made even more obvious by the fact that she was hesitant to tell whatever secret she had. S-ranked, what could possibly be so important about the girl sat next to him that it'd have an S-ranked label slapped over it?

The blanket had fallen down Naruto's torso now, leaving the thin sleeveless shirt she'd put on bare to the world.

Blushing, Sasuke yanked the covers back up, stiffening against Naruto nuzzled into the crook of his neck. Her nose was cold damn it.

Checking the time, he noted that it was getting close to the time Naruto had requested he wake her up. And yet, the bags beneath her eyes told him to do otherwise.

Stretching to the side as far as the slumbering Naruto would allow, Sasuke scooped up his headband, taking aim and then nailing Kiba in the forehead. The mutt work up with a startled yelp, eyes narrowing and opening his mouth to bellow, but stopped when he caught sight of Sasuke's predicament.

"Not a word," Sasuke hissed, folding his arms across his chest, even if such a movement wasn't visible under the blanket.

"It's your turn to watch, Naruto needs sleep."

The brunet frowned, but accepted his reasoning, stumbling to his feet and unsteadily making his way over to the window. Probably hoping the cold air would wake him up a bit.

Letting his eyes slowly slip shut, Sasuke allowed a small sigh to pass through his lips, leaning his head back till it came to rest against the wall behind him. Not the most comfortable of sleeping positions, but he was a ninja now. A little discomfort never hurt anybody.

He was asleep before Kiba could look back over at the two ten minutes later.

 

* * *

 

 

When I woke, it was to a heavy weight resting atop my own head.

Eyes snapping open, I remained frozen in place, taking in everything about the environment I could. Still in Tazuna's house, that was good news. I recognised the flooring, especially one wooden beam that was uneven. I'd almost stumbled on that last night, carrying Kakashi-sensei in. That and the window that faced eastwards, sunlight pouring in and letting me know it was about mid-morning. I'd slept longer then I'd meant to. I was still dressed in my sleeping clothes, though the blanket was tucked neatly around my form, more so then I would have expected.

It was Sasuke, I noted from the corner of my vision and the scent that filled my nostrils. The black bangs that were currently tickling my cheek were from him, who'd decided that my head made the perfect pillow for him to sleep on.

Finally though, the most painful thing was sat across from me, giggling away.

Apparently Kakashi-sensei was well enough to sit up and pull out the camera he usually only kept on him for mission evidence -only ever gifted to the elite Jonin because damn those things were expensive- in order to take a photo of my current situation, Kiba snickering away next to him.

"Good morning Kaichō-chan," Kakashi chimed, offering up an eye smile and slyly pocketing the camera he'd been wielding not a second ago. I made a mental note to snatch it up the second I got the chance.

At the noise Sasuke let out a surprised snort, waking up and slamming his cheekbone into the top of my skull. Dear lord did it hurt.

"No wonder Sasuke turned all those fan girls down, he was after a girl strong enough to dominate him."

Too busy nursing my injured head to really register what Kiba was saying for the first five or so seconds, I narrowed my eyes, sorting through the words while a snarl of denial passed between Sasuke's lips. Though it seemed he too was nursing his point of impact.

"I am not!" Sasuke snapped, looking suspiciously pink. I could feel my own cheeks burning slightly, and not in the fever kind of way as I straightened myself, throwing the blanket off and making my way over to my scroll for fresh clothes.

"Doesn't matter if he is, I won't entertain the idea of a relationship before I'm sixteen."

Both Kiba and Sasuke blinked, looking startled by my unusual reply while Kakashi wiped away a tear of pride.

"I knew there was a reason you were my favourite."

"Why couldn't you have been at the academy?! Every other girl was all 'oh, Sasuke-kun!' You'd have been great!" Kiba nudged me in the ribs as I straightened, a new set of clothes folded between my arms. My eyes drifted over to Kakashi and I could read on his face that he'd already put together the fact Zabuza had survived. And he seemed to realize that I'd worked it out too.

"I'll let you shower while I tell them then."

I made my way over to the door at Kakashi's hint, pulling it open and only stopping because it seemed like Kakashi had something more to say.

"After all, you have to wash off those icky boy germs, right Naruto-chan?"

Maybe I slammed the door a little too loud, but I was not used to Kakashi teasing me damn it. Clutching the clothes tighter, I followed my nose to the room that smelt of water, pleased to see it was empty. It didn't even matter that the shower was cold water only, I was just pleased to be clean.

 

Seating myself at the kitchen table, adjusted my hair, tightly braided to my skull in a French plait, before turning my attention to our host.

"Breakfast looks lovely Tsunami-san."

Kiba, who already had a mouthful of the bacon I'd supplied our host with, spluttered for a moment, forcibly swallowing what was obviously a far too large mouthful, before repeating my compliment. Sasuke and Kakashi, ever the duo of few words, just offered a nod of acknowledgement, quietly digging into their own helping as they did so.

"Inari, where were you? Come say hello to the ninja who protected grandpa."

Tilting my head to a side after stuffing a sausage in my mouth, I watched the hat wearing youth with sharp eyes. His name, well, I liked it. He was after all, named after foxes. Which was kind of my trademark now after all. The glare on his face would have been ferocious had I been an eight year old like him, but having stared Kyūbi in the eye, it was nothing on my past experiences.

"Mom, they are going to die."

"What did you say you brat!" Kiba was on his feet in an instant, snarling as he took a step forwards, but I managed to catch him by the scruff of his neck, pulling him back into his seat and getting to my feet instead.

"There's no way you can win against Gatou."

Making my way over, I squatted in front of the boy, eyes narrowed and watching as he twitched more and more at my stare before attempting to step away. And when he did, I snatched up his arm in a tight, but not painful grip.

"I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Naruto," Sasuke cautioned from somewhere behind me, but I ploughed right on anyway.

"Because you're making me feel uncomfortable talking about my possible death like that. I couldn't care less what you think, rolling over and crying, wishing that the world will leave you alone? Well let me tell you, it won't, not at all. So if you're just going to let everyone precious to you die, then be my guest. But me, I'm never gonna quit fighting. Even if I have to die for them to live."

Releasing the boy, I turned on heel, walking out of the room and ignoring Kiba's call for me to return back to the table and finish eating. It'd struck a nerve with me. I couldn't picture any of my team dying, couldn't imagine how I'd deal with it. I refused to let that happen. I'd do everything in my power to make sure they were all oaky through this mission and beyond.

 

"...You see, Naruto came quite close to death a year ago. She was stabbed through the back, punctured a lung trying to protect me as I protected her. She was very lucky not to die."

"So? She was stupid enough to become a ninja, of course she's gonna die."

"Maa, she didn't sign up for anything. See, Naruto-chan is an orphan, she's never known her parents and almost everyone in the village hates her. She had to go out and make her own family, to make her own precious bonds. When you said they were going to die, it was like an insult to Naruto, that she wouldn't be strong enough to protect them. Consider that Inari."

Thanks to my enchanted hearing, the words of Kakashi's conversation with Inari drifted through the thin walls to wrap around my brain.

It wasn't a second later that the door was thrown open and both Sasuke and Kiba bustled in, dropping like a bag of rocks to sit by my side.

"Did you really take a fatal blow last year!" Kiba demanded, fists clenched and Akamaru yapping beside him.

Slowly, I nodded, chewing on my lip until I tasted blood on my tongue.

"Well it won't happen again. We're a team, we'll protect each other. Right Uchiha?"

Sasuke snorted, but never the less gave a nod of confirmation. Warmth spread through my veins as I sat there, watching the two watch me.

"Thanks guys."

 

Kakashi had me on Tazuna guard duty. He was training Kiba and Sasuke via tree climbing right now, something I'd mastered years ago.

Currently, I had several clones studying and attempting different Fūinjutsu seals on the water's surface below us -thus if one exploded the bridge wouldn't be taking any damage- while I was refilling my sun seal, ready for the next battle. I kept having to clear away a good deal of mist that seemed to persist on settled in the air around us in order to keep the bright orb of energy in a unbroken line of sight to the seal, but I was steadily getting there.

"Hey brat, why aren't you training with the rest of your team?"

Looking up at Tazuna, who appeared to be on his lunch break, I cut off the connection to the seal, picking up my own bento that Tsunami had been kind enough to make for me.

"I finished the exercise that they are completely years ago."

"Are they really that behind?"

Snorting, I popped a slice of tomato into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully as I looked up at the sky that was slowly beginning to mist over again.

"No, Sasuke is the rookie of his graduating year actually, and Kiba's not half bad either. I'm just very far ahead. This is my sixth year of service in Konoha's ninja corps."

Tazuna stared.

"I am currently the last early graduate from the ninja academy; basically a child who passes the final exam ahead of their own year group, as the age of graduating classes fluctuate during war time. Kakashi has been my sensei for five years now, and I trust him with my life. Your own is in great hands, that I promise you."

Tazuna snorted, but seemed to have been calmed by my words, for he quickly finished off his lunch and got back to work. Six or so days until Zabuza resurfaced, and for that, I needed to be at Tazuna's house to fight off the thugs. I'd have to time it right, to train so much the day before that I could pass off as exhausted to Kakashi-sensei so that he'd let me sleep. Brat he may be, but I wouldn't let Inari get harmed by thugs, nor his mother.

With a shaky plan in mind, I turned back to the seal on my forearm and began reabsorbing sunlight again.

 

My plan went off without a problem. I'd turned up exhausted beyond belief in time to listen to Sasuke and Kiba easily making their way through Tsunami's latest dinner. Kakashi had excused me to bed, then in the morning told me to just get to the bridge as soon as I was ready.

So here I was, sat perfectly straight on the roof of the house, awaiting the bandits that I knew would strike. They were approaching from the west and I couldn't help but smile. It was one of the things that annoyed me beyond all belief, those that took advantage of those weaker than them. Pulling out a kunai, I couldn't help but grin.

I was going to enjoy this.

 

Running as fast as I could towards Tazuna's bridge, I ripped off the wrapping around my forearms and upper arms, uncovering every seal designed for battle that was currently on my body. I was probably going to need a good lot of them.

The closer I got to the bridge, the thicker the mist because, until I could no longer see six feet in front of me. But the scent of blood was strong in the air, mingled in with panic and desperation. It had to be Sasuke, I could sense Kiba's chakra signature as I raced past him on the underside of the bridge.

While my Rasengan may still be incomplete, there was more than enough power in the unfinished technique to do what I wanted to. Slamming the unstable ball into the bridge surface, I shot up just in front of Sasuke, managing to land a punch to the enemy ninja's masked face.

"Naruto!"

Without hesitation I dropped over Sasuke's slumped form in a defensive crouch, pulling one kunai out while the other hand supported my weight.

"Are you okay Sasuke? We need to-"

I cut off, noting that my entrance had already been iced over by our enemy. Slowly I turned to look at the selection of mirrors, which our enemy had seemingly slunk back into. Haku, apprentice to Zabuza. Knows all the weaknesses on the body, considering he was capable enough to put Zabuza in a false death under such circumstances.

If I remember correctly, the Ice release was made up of both wind and water, which just so happened to be my own two elements. So no type advantage there. Sasuke's fire would have been good, if not for the water. Damn it, we should have started elemental training quicker, then he would know some lightning jutsu - no wait, that wouldn't work either. Wind beats water.

The both of us were highly disadvantaged for this fight.

Still, if I could get close enough to slap a chakra absorber on one of those mirrors, it'd be a nice, quick easy way out. Yes, we had to try. Sasuke should know basic code, they were taught in the academy if what Kakashi had told me was true.

Straightening up, I pulled Sasuke up with me, watching Haku watch us. I wanted to save him. I'd suffered, like he had, for something beyond my control. Zabuza was to him, what Kakashi was to me. We were two sides of the same coin. If Kakashi had rebelled against an unjust ruler... I'd have gone with him. It'd have broken me to leave Shisui behind, but I'd still have gone with Kakashi. Of that, there was no doubt.

Tapping out a basic 'distraction, you fire' on Sasuke's arm, I threw the kunai in my hand and summoned up enough shadow clones that there were two for each mirror. As the kunai clanked against the frozen surface, we attacked. I shot forwards, already well aware that Sasuke knew which one of me was the real one, and thus, knew not to aim in my general direction.

The grand fireball jutsu that he threw out would have, under any other circumstances, been more than enough to melt the ice around us. I could feel the heat flaring at my skin as I ran through my own handseals, summoning up a quick wind jutsu to power the flames further forwards. Under these conditions, Haku wouldn't dare to leave his mirror; the only reason we weren't roasted alive was because I'd fanned the flames around and away from the two of us. It still wasn't enough to do little more than brush against the ice and I grimaced.

Looks like I'd have to get creative then.

Movement from the corner of my eye had my head darting around just in time to see needles come flying towards us. Not even wasting the time to snarl, I threw myself to a side, snatching up a kunai and blocking all the ones that I knew I couldn't dodge. Six managed to get past my guard, but they were the ones that would cause the least damage to me. Haku wasn't aiming to kill, and that was good news.

"Sasuke, I need you to-" Sasuke was down.

There were needles sticking out of his neck, his torso, everywhere. I stumbled, dropping to my knees beside him and pressing my fingertips to his neck. No pulse. And...

And no chakra.

Even in false death I should have been able to sense a scrap of chakra. There should have been some, there should have been some I could sense because otherwise-

 

Otherwise he was dead.

 

* * *

 

 

Bleeding sluggishly from his chest, but otherwise unharmed, Kakashi Hatake casually pocketing the scroll from which his summons had their orders. He had a series of six different ones stored in his vest pockets, for times when he couldn't speak, times when he had to give them orders before they even arrived to aid him.

Luckily 'hunt the blood on this scroll' was one of those six. They knew not to go for him when it was his blood, so they'd sought Zabuza, pinning him with their weight, their jaws and claws. Giving him the perfect opening to charge up his one hit kill. Raikiri.

The only thing that stopped him was the sudden pressure that hung in the air, a pressure he'd not felt for a year past. Naruto had been pushed to use the nine-tails chakra once again.

Gritting his teeth, Kakashi shot forwards, the chirping of a thousand birds echoing through his ears. There was a blur of movement and the fake hunter-nin, now unmasked, dropped in front of him, arms spread wide and ready to take the attack for his partner. And Kakashi didn't have the time to stop.

Then, the obstacle to Zabuza was removed.

A huge red claw grappled for the boy's arms and yanked him to a side out of the way. A sharp cry -deep, source male- of denial from the hunter nin was the only sound once Kakashi was arm deep in Zabuza's chest.

He died instantly.

 

* * *

 

 

"Zabuza-sama!" The scream of someone who'd just witnessed their whole life breaking before their eyes was the one clear thing that broke through my mind, shifting past the haze of bloodlust and desire to just hurt something.

Forcing back the chakra that was just so full of hate, I let the red cloud of confusion dissolve away from my vision, finally allowing me to see everything for the first time since the Kyūbi had thrown his chakra at me. Haku was sprawled just a little in front of her, the sleeves of his kimono torn away and the skin of his forearms ferociously burnt away. From the twitching of his fingers, it would be a long time before he was able to use them fully again.

Struggling forwards, I pulled a specialized chakra suppressor from my pouch, slapping it onto the boy's bare ankle. He went out like a light.

Breathing harshly, I let out a low sob, pressing the palms of my hands into the curve of my eye sockets, beating back the tears that were threatening to appear. My mind had been muddled by the battle, I'd not remembered that with Sasuke using so much chakra, in his near death state it'd be pretty much gone. He'd have chakra exhaustion when he woke up, but he would awaken.

And, I hadn't been able to save Zabuza. He was gone, without a chance to repent for his sins, to let Haku know he was more than a tool. And now Haku's master was dead. I'd ruined it all. Every last bit.

"Naruto!"

A hand grabbed my shoulder, forcibly rolling me over to a side and I stared up into Kakashi's unfocused face.

"-ashi-nii?"

The words slurred in my mouth before everything faded out.

 

" **So you're back again.** "

Staring impassively up at Kyūbi, I slowly blinked. I felt emotionally drained, as if everything had been slowly sucked from within me, leaving nothing but empty space where my feelings had once been.

" **I don't see why you care so much, they were the enemy.** "

"Zabuza was to Haku, what Kakashi is to me. He just watched his Kakashi die right before his eyes, and he was helpless to stop it. To have to watch any of my precious people die.. It would break me. I-I don't know if I'm strong enough to protect them!"

" **Protect them from what?!** "

And I split open like an over stressed plastic bag, spilling all of my contents outwards, laying them bare for all those watching to see.

The fox remained silent throughout my entire rant, my confession. And while part of me panicked, panicked because no one else could know or they'd start changing things as well, ruining the entire timeline, another part wept with relief. It was no longer my burden to bare alone. I had another who shared the knowledge I had, another who could share my dread for the future, for not being good enough for what was to come.

" **You are lying to yourself about the cycle of hatred. You don't want rid of it at all, you just want a happy ending for yourself and those you care about. You just see this as the way to go about it!** "

Flinching at the Bijū's words, I crumbled against the bars of his cage, pressing my forehead against the cool metal before me and unable to help the tear tracks that were leaking down my face.

He was right. I was being selfish. I wanted everything to go well so that after the danger had passed, there would be no more pressure on me. So that I could live a peaceful life and not have to worry about all those around me. That I could trust the world to be kind to both them and me.

" **Should these things happen to pass, you will be hailed a hero. There will be no quiet life, there will be no peace. Not for you. Whenever something goes wrong, they shall always look to you for aid. Knowing that, will you continue on as you have?! Will you still play this roll?!** "

"If I want the people I hold dear to live the lives they deserve, I have to. Even if it means giving up my own."

A gust of hot air rattled past me as the Kyūbi snorted, the screech of his claws against the floor resounding through the room.

" **Stop living a lie. I shall not have a jailer who does not face the truth themselves. How will you fit your life and self into the play once the curtain closes and the script finishes?! You won't', you'll be a strange to all your precious little people! This is I hate humans. So weak, so pathetic!** "

Grimacing, I dropped back, floating in the shallow water and staring up at the patchwork of metal that was the ceiling.

"You're right. Thank you for getting my head back on straight. I'd gotten so obsessed with the idea of keeping everything right, of saving as many as I can, that I lost sight of who I am. I started playing a roll to fit the expectations I had."

There was silence as I floated there, as Kyūbi sat near the bars but not close enough for me to tell where one tail ended and another began.

" **You know my name, you have yet to use it though.** "

"We introduce ourselves as we want to be known. For all purposes, I am Naruto now. You've never asked me to call you by your name, so until such a time, you will remain the Kyūbi to me, my unwilling prisoner and my grudging saviour."

 

When I next woke up, we were back in Tazuna's house. My body was no longer aching all over, but my mind still felt like it'd been stuffed in a soup can, shook up and then released back into my head. Groaning, I pressed a hand to my forehead, dragging it down the side of my skull and then digging the heel of my palm against my eye. They were sticky, like I'd been crying for a while.

There was breathing to my side and I looked up, freezing in place at what I saw. Haku was tied up, clearly by Kakashi because he'd have been able to get out of Sasuke or Kiba's binds, and clearly broken. He was just staring straight forwards, and there was nothing to read on his face because there was nothing on his mind. For a moment, I looked around, wondering why Kakashi had left me in here with an enemy and no other guard.

But paused upon seeing one if his loyal ninken staring back at me. Bisuke stared back at me before his tongue lolled out of his mouth, shuffling over to pressed his cold wet nose against my fingertips.

Scratching that special spot behind the dog's ear, I turned back to look at Haku, settling into a cross leg sitting position beside him. I considered what I could do, what I could possibly say to the boy who'd lost it all. But no preparation came and it all just spewed out from between by lips.

"He was your Kakashi, wasn't he?"

Haku didn't move at all, didn't acknowledge I was talking to him, but I got the feeling he was listening.

"Before I graduated, I was on my own. I didn't have anyone at all. And then Kakashi came along, and he was everything to me. He trained me, he looked after me, he cares in his strange little way. And I love him more than anything in this world. I've only been with my teammates for a few weeks, but I know in more time, I'll hold them just as close. I'd stop working if they died..."

Trailing off, I ran a hand through my free hair, throwing it back over my shoulder and the grimacing.

"Zabuza tried to kill the Mizukage, didn't he? Because he's started a civil war?" Chewing on my lip and wondering at the wisdom of such a thing, I finally sighed and reached out to take  gentle hold of Haku's shoulder, pulling his unmoving body into a hug. Not for any form of comfort, but because it got me closer to him, enough for a whisper low that Bisuke wouldn't be able to hear.

"There's a woman leading a rebellion against the Mizukage called Mei Terumi, it's rumoured she has a bloodline limit like you, just with lava. If you're looking for something to do, I'm pretty sure Zabuza would be happy to see the mission he failed completed."

Drawing back from Haku who's eyes were now very wide, I shakily got to my feet at Bisuke 's whining.

"Lead me to them Bisuke?"

 

Kakashi, Sasuke and Kiba were all sat up to Tazuna's dining table, Our client seemed in high spirits, and seeing as everyone was all well, then it was pretty obvious there'd been no major problems after I'd passed out.

"Good morning Naruto-chan." As always, Kakashi was the first to notice me, looking up from his book and offering a brilliant eye-smile as he did so.

Two dark heads of hair jerked up to look at me, a grin splintering across Kiba's face and Sasuke even managed a smile instead of a smirk. He was covered in bandages, but most certainly, if somewhat exhausted.

"It's good to see you're alive Sasuke."

"For god's sake!" Kiba snapped, capturing me in a head lock with one arm and copying the movement with at too stunned to dodge Sasuke.

"Team hug!"

Unused to physical contact from someone other than Shisui or Kakashi, I spluttered for a second before wrapping my arms tightly around the two boy's waist and squeezing them with everything I had. Sasuke's grip may not have been as tight as Kiba's, but it was certainly there.

"Well Naruto-chan, Tazuna was just about to go shower for the evening, so there's time for the team to chat, share a few secrets."

Blinking, I turned my gaze on Tazuna, who seemed just as clueless to his early departure as I was.

"I am?"

"Yes you are."

At Kakashi's confirmation, Tazuna grunted, but nevertheless left the room, leaving the four of us stood around. Awkwardly, I sat down where I felt most comfortable, right beside Kakashi.

"Erm... Okay... You know the Kyūbi attacked the village twelve years ago, right?"

 

The boys were silent as I explained everything to them. Sasuke's face may as well have been made of stone for all that it gave away, whilst Kiba was quite content to sit there gaping, Akamaru dozing away on the boy's lap.

"Whoa, so let's get this straight! You have the Nine Tailed Fox sat in your stomach, can draw on its chakra and it'll heal you from almost anything?!"

Nervously adjusting the collar of my shirt, I looked over at Kiba before giving a slow nod.

"It's an S-ranked secret, and you will be killed if you speak of it. But if you want to ask for another team placement, I understand."

"For a genius, you can be an exceptional idiot at time."

We all turned to look at Sasuke, who had his arms folded, a frown on his face and a fire in his eyes. Genius? Hardly, I'd never been called that before. I'd just worked my backside off in order to get to where I was right now. There was nothing genius about me, I was just somewhat smart and had the shadow clones to cram whatever knowledge I needed into my brain.

"That seal is nothing more than a boost, like the Sharingan for me, or Akamaru for dog-breath here. It doesn't change anything."

"Yeah! Nothing at all! In fact, with you on our team, we'll blitz anyone who dared to stand in our path!"

Throwing myself at the duo and catching them both in a hug, I couldn't help but bury my face between their shoulders and trying to tell myself the shakes were from exhaustion, not for relief.

 

It was the day of the bridge opening, and team seven were standing there ready to be the first to cross this new structure.

"What is he doing here?!" Pointing his index finger in an aggressive manner, a deep growl escaped from Kiba's throat, though I doubted he had any intention to hold it back. Akamaru barked crisply in agreement, stood proudly by Kiba's side as they glared at Haku's now untied form.

Kakashi, who was casually sharpening a kunai he'd pulled from his pouch,  rolled his one visible eye but nevertheless explained.  

"He doesn't have any intelligence that the village could use, and I'm not heartless enough to kill someone when he's clearly not fighting with us. He'll go his way, and we'll go ours. Let's not go starting fights with those above your skill level Kiba-kun."

Snapping a square of chocolate off of my bar with a loud crack, I held the piece between my teeth for a second before I began chewing.

Haku was looking over at myself and Sasuke, stood slightly off to the side from where Kakashi and Kiba where. When he took a step towards us though, so did our sensei, cutting off his direct path to the two of us. And then, with the first words I think I'd actually heard him speak, Haku addressed Kakashi.

"I just want to talk to her."

My silver haired-sensei must have read something truthful in his movements, because he gave a dip of his head, moving to a side and letting the older teen past. Haku came to a stop a foot or so before me and I tilted my head back, looking up at the older teen. His face...

Well, aside from it's obvious beauty, it wasn't so blank now. Made even more obvious when he smiled.

"I wanted to say thank you Naruto-san, for sparing my life and showing me that your desire to protect was greater than mine. Maybe because it is requited."

"I think he loved you, in his own way... I don't know your name..."

Or at least, I can't remember Haku ever actually introducing himself. The ice type user gave a sad smile, the wind fluttering through his long bangs.

"It is Haku, Naruto-san."

And then before I knew what was happening, lips were pressed against my own. Cool, but so much smoother than what I'd have expected.

It only lasted for a second, Haku disappearing in a swirl of mist as Kiba howled in outrage and Sasuke scowled.

Running a hand across my lips, my brain whirled, trying to figure out what the hell had happened. Haku had just, kissed me? Surely not, but he had.

Why?

Why would he kiss me, who'd been the one to stop him from giving his life for Zabuza?

"What the hell was that?!"

"Maa, no more talking to strange boys on missions Naruto-chan."


	6. A Determined Team

 

Time went on. Days came and past, and we grew closer as a team. For the first few days, Kiba, Kakashi and hell, even Sasuke teased me about attracting strange exotic boys when I wasn't even trying. That soon stopped when I turned up the next day with only a bento for myself. In fact, we'd gotten to the point where I wasn't afraid to be seen in public with the trio now, even if they still did have a few of their strange moments.

To begin with, it was purely my reputation that stopped me from hanging around them in a crowded market place. Kiba destroyed that thought though, stopping a vendor from selling me poor quality meat and shaming him in front of everyone present. He then proceeded to walk me around the store, explaining the best way to get the best cuts of meat, clearly quite knowledgeable on the subject. I treated him to dinner as a thank you, but before we'd even started the first course, both Sasuke and Kakashi had snuck in and seated themselves at our table, the latter declaring it a team meal. Which I ended up funding. Not that I minded, but a little warning would have been nice.

Still though, somehow, at least once a week we ended up hanging out as a team. There were times when I'd bring along a picnic to have at the end of a training session, or when Kiba would gather us for a tag-team battle, or there were times when Sasuke would seek us out because he wanted to work on a collaboration jutsu. The Uchiha had noted the damage our wind and fire combo could potentially cause, and we spent one evening attempting it by our lonesome's. Needless to say, a lot of trees had burned that evening because while I had a secondary water nature, I wasn't talented enough that I could pull liquid from the air yet. Especially dry air that'd just housed so much fire.

We'd been barred from working on these jutsus on our own now, and could only better them whenever Kakashi or Shisui were with us. To put out whatever flames we created.

It was good. They'd really grown on me, Kiba and Sasuke. They were as close to me as I was to Shisui now, still not quite at Kakashi's level, but getting there. And I looked forwards to when we reached that stage.

 

 

Tumbling to the ground, I let out a pained groan, clenching my eyes shut. That'd been a stupid move. I knew the counter to that attack, but I'd been distracted and failed to produce it. Neji seemed to realize it too, because he was staring down at me with a thoughtful frown on his face, one bandage-wrapped arm held out before him in an offer to help me back onto my feet.

Coiling my fingers around his, I allowed the older Genin to pull me to my feet, gingerly rubbing at the fierce ache currently throbbing upon the side of my right rib cage.

Gentle fist was the stupidest name ever, there was nothing gentle about the after effects of that taijutsu. It stung worse than some of Lee's punches. While I was pretty sure it was because the chakra point had been closed and thus, the Kyūbi couldn't flood the sight of the injury with healing chakra, that didn't make it any easier to deal with. I healed up nice and quick from my spars with Lee. Neji on the other hand, if I allowed him to get in even one hit of gentle fist I'd be feeling it for the rest of the day.

"You're distracted," Neji mused, releasing my fingers and pocketing the arm, the other flicking his dark long hair back over his shoulder. Sighing, I stretched my arms above my head, twisting my torso back and forth in an attempt to bring some feeling other than pain back into my ribs.

When a finger poked at my ribs, I leapt to a side, instantly on the defensive, before realizing that my rib cage was no longer pulsating in pain. In fact, upon concentrating a little more, I could sense the chakra sluggishly flowing back in to the now open tenketsu.

Blinking, I looked up at Neji, who was lowering his bandage free arm from where it had just undone the damage he'd made. Odd, he'd never offered to really fix up my chakra network once we were finished in a spar, this was a first.

As if sensing my thoughts, pupiless white eyes rolled as Neji folded his arms across his chest.

"I can hardly count it a victory when you were distracted Uzumaki."

Groaning a bit, because Neji only really called me Uzumaki when he was upset with me now, I flopped down onto the ground, patting the spot beside me as an invitation. After a moment's thought, I unzipped the sleeveless orange and black jacket I wore, allowing the material to just hang off my shoulders and expose the clothing beneath. It wasn't much, a skin tight black shirt with thin straps. The top stopped just as my ribs did, leaving the expanse of my stomach bare. It was rather form fitting too, but that was to be expected of clothing worn under baggy overtops.

It'd been a year since I'd had to get a bra, a few months before team seven had come together. It was painful, having to go through puberty again. The only good part about it was that thanks to the Kyūbi, my periods only lasted two days, instead of the five or six I'd had to suffer through in my previous life. I got the feeling that the fox didn't appreciate its container being so easy to track via blood, and I hadn't really had any missions requiring the Kunoichi pills that would pause my cycle since I'd started. Not since Wave anyway.

Regardless, I knew whenever I looked in the mirror now that I was going to be so much better than my last life. I hadn't had blonde hair back then, or startlingly blue eyes. They were striking against my tanned skin, and while I might not have much of a figure at this age now, I knew with all the exercise and toning I went through that, within a few years, I would be a knockout of a Kunoichi. Just like every other one in the village.

Neji's eyes had flickered over at the adjustment, but with the amount of times we'd sparred together, he'd gotten used to me throwing my jacket open, and sometimes off completely, in an attempt to cool down quick.

Swallowing around my suddenly dry tongue, I summoned up a trickle of chakra from the well that rested within me, directing it towards my stomach. Instantly, the inked black lines of my Jinchuriki seal bloomed across the tanned skin of my midsection, coiling outwards in the spiral shape I knew so well. I'd spent hours inspecting it, running my fingers along the curves and swirls. The amount of preparation that had gone into creating this seal with mind boggling, and the more I studied Fūinjutsu, the greater my appreciation for the design grew.

"What is that." Neji didn't really ask, more like demanded, sitting up far stiffer than he had been doing before, with his Byakugan focused upon the seal in an uncomfortably intense manner.

Teeth digging into my lip with far more force than I'd intended to use, I looked away from my fellow Genin, swallowing nervously. I didn't understand why it was such a big issue for me to talk about it. I wasn't ashamed I was the Kyūbi's Jinchuriki, he'd saved my life before today, I got all kinds of bonuses and helpful tricks because I had a demon foxed sealed inside my stomach.

But every time I tried to find the words to speak, to explain, the kept dying before they could escape from behind my teeth. The eyes of the villagers, those that really didn't understand Fūinjutsu and just looked at the girl carrying the fox and saw the same thing, they kept flashing before my mind. But none of those eyes were white, were pupiless. None of the Hyūga had ever really acknowledged me, but neither had they gone out of their way to show their any displeasure over my unwilling prisoner.

"Th-this is how the Fourth defeated the Kyūbi."

I could tell the exact moment that Neji processed what my words meant, what they related to in regards to my seal. His brow furrowed, eyes narrowed as he threw the words about, churned them this way and that in his genius brain, before it spat out the correct conclusion. Things went into seals, seals were used to either seal something away or to create an effect. That was the basics that Neji would know from his own seal, the Caged Bird Curse Seal. That it would seal his Byakugan upon his death, but would also be able to inflict pain upon him at any time those in charge desired it. Something to seal up, and an effect. His eyes sparked dangerously the second he realized that my seal was most certainly not an effect seal.

"The Kyūbi isn't dead, the academy lied to us," Neji murmured, lips pressed together in a harsh frown as he shifted just the slightest bit closer. One hand reached out for a second, and then stilled. No doubt realizing that I might be as sensitive about my seal as what he was with his.

"I don't mind, it's locked up tight."

"This is why they all hate you," Neji whispered, fingertips tracing the black swirl's path across my stomach. The sensation wasn't quite ticklish, as I'd desensitized myself to that a long time ago, but it did make me feel uncomfortable. Neji seemed to realize it too, because he drew back his extended limb and I stopped supplying chakra to my stomach, allowing the design to fade.

"That's why they all hate me. They see my face and link it instantly with the Kyūbi, and all that hatred spills over onto me. But, without him, I'd have died from that fatal blow a while ago, instead of just suffering from a bit of trauma."

"Trauma?"

Damn, I hadn't been meaning to mention that. I'd only wanted to tell Neji about the seal to let him know we were somewhat similar. Neither of us had really asked for a seal to be slapped on our skin, neither of us really wanted to be defined by the Fūinjutsu that marked us. That didn't mean that we weren't though. I was a Jinchuriki, just like Neji was a member of the Branch Family.

But that was not all that we were, and I was determined to prove it.

"He healed me up completely, and while it might be so that he could avoid getting dragged into a state of suspension for a bit while his chakra remade a body, I still appreciate it... I figured it was best to let you know about this, seeing as killing is allowed at different stages the Chũnin exams and if someone comes at me like that, I might not be able to avoid calling upon the fox for aid."

Neji grimaced, hands clenching into fists. For what reason, I don't know.

Laying back against the ground, I stared up at the clear blue sky above our heads, letting out a low sigh as I did so. There was still several hours before I was due to meet up with the rest of team seven, and I didn't mind spending that time relaxing here, a thinking Neji next to me. My eyes slipped closed, skin warmed by the summery sunlight as the grass tickling along the soft skin of my arms.

The last bit of peace before everything would be kicking into high gear.

 

 

We managed to waste an hour of our free time before Neji seemed to decide we needed to get moving. He didn't mention anything about the seal, but every so often he'd glance at my stomach, hidden away now that my jacket was once again zipped up, the high collar coming to rest two inches beneath my chin.

Nevertheless, he had walked with me through Konoha, deactivated Byakugan taking in every stare, every whisper around us with new eyes. While he'd no doubt have noticed it before, now that he knew the reason, everything would suddenly be so much clearer.

This was why I hadn't wanted to tell Neji. Before this, we had just been sparring partners, working with one another while the rest of our teammates were busy. There hadn't really been any complications, and while Neji may or may not think of it as a friendship, I did. Now, it felt like it was almost tainted by this sudden knowledge, that things had taken a step in an unwanted direction and then lost sight of how to get things back on track. The weight rested uncomfortably inside my stomach, heavy as a lead-lined coffin.

But it didn't stop the Hyūga from walking close to me, close enough that I wouldn't even have to extend my arm too far to brush my fingers against his. Close enough that with my enchanted hearing I could listen to every breath the brunet took, hear the soft swish of his hair brushing against the back of his shirt.

"Nee-chan!" Though I was pretty sure even a deafen civilian could have heard that battle cry.

Spinning on heel, I held out my arms, already quite used to the motion. Instantly a bundle of overexcited nine year old launched himself into my arms, gripping at the loose material of my jacket and happily rubbing a strong nose into the tender flesh of my collarbone.

"Konohamaru-kun, it's nice to see you again." And it was. The boy had a tendency to pop up in the middle of nowhere, whenever I was walking down the street, at the Hokage's office, in the shops. Half the time I was certain he was getting his grandfather to track me down with that crystal ball. In fact, that'd probably be why he hadn't popped up when team seven were busy getting stuff done. Which would also explain why he'd yet to meet any of my teammates other than Kakashi the one time we'd had that picnic.

"I told you, I'm your little brother now! And you've got to call me that!"

Unable to quite stop the giggle that burst from my throat, I gave a low sigh but still squeezed Konohamaru in a tighter hug before letting him go.

"Otouto, what brings you here to my side today?"

The Sarutobi boy positively beamed at me, cheeks lifting up in an almost blinding smile that reminded me painfully of how Naruto should have been. If I hadn't stolen his place. And you know, been female.

Abruptly, Konohamaru turned to look at Neji and his eyes narrowed.

"I wanted you to meet Moegi and Udon, but then I saw you walking with a boy!" Pointing at Neji, the honorary little brother scowled and it took everything I had not to ruffle his hair. Cute. Far too cute.

Instead, I settled for playing along with the kid, folding my arms and raising an eyebrow. The two children that'd been trailing after him, who I'm pretty sure were the aforementioned Moegi and Udon, seemed hesitant to get a bit closer but were equally just as fascinated with Konohamaru's 'nee-chan'.

For his part, Neji seemed a bit bewildered by the finger suddenly pointed in his direction, both eyebrows raised and a very unimpressed expression upon his face.

"Konohamaru! Don't be rude!" Taking a hold of his finger, I pushed it down, giving in to my urge to ruffle the boy's hair and offering Neji an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about my Otouto's appalling manners Neji. Konohamaru, this is Hyūga Neji, he's been my sparring partner for, erm, about a year and a half now?" My question was aimed towards Neji, who gave a shallow nod as confirmation to my uneasy question. "Now how about introducing your friends Maru-kun?"

Konohamaru grinned at the nickname, throwing a smoke bomb on the floor and going through a little introduction that Jiraiya would no doubt have been proud of, had he been around to witness it. It certainly sung of the toad sage's love for the dramatics, that much was obvious. Come to think of it, Jiraiya was the student of Konohamaru's grandfather, had they ever met?

I was pulled from my musings as Neji sneered slightly, nose scrunched up and clearly ready to tell Konohamaru exactly what he thought about his little introduction. Before he could start of ripping into the boy's poor psyche, I cuffed him over the head and then, as an afterthought, allowed my hand to rest on the older Genin's shoulder.

"Are we okay?" I asked quietly, fully aware that Konohamaru was eavesdropping to the best of his nine year old abilities. He was not subtle about it, at all.

"You too have a mark defining what you are. I do believe that we have come to an understanding," and then, so quiet that I almost missed it came the words, "thank you, Naruto."

The Hyūga spun on heels, with a grace that even most Jonin would envy, walking away. I wanted to call after him, to tell him that our marks might define what we are, but that it was not all we were. But I couldn't drum up the courage to do so in such a crowded place.

So instead I let the boy that was perhaps the closest thing I had to a best friend my age walk away, the weight on my shoulders bearing down just that little bit more.

"What was that about?" Konohamaru asked, rubbing sheepishly at the back of his head before he seemed to decide it wasn't important, instead grasping at my hand and then pulling me along the streets, Moegi and Udon trailing after him.

"Never mind! Nee-chan, play ninja with us!" With such a cute request, how could I possibly refuse?

 

 

I spent some of my weekly earnings, paying for an ice-cream for each of us. I'd batted at Konohamaru for a bit, commenting on all three's taijutsu. They listening, taking all my words to heart. Udon seemed quite impressed when his elected leader informed them that I had graduated early at six, even though I'd insisted I was pretty much seven when I'd actually done so. Moegi had taken that as proof that girl's could do just as well as the boys, and was now quite insistent that she'd one day best me in the future.

I had doubts, not over the girl's future skill, but that she'd be able to ever best me. Unless she too was hiding a demon in her stomach. Unlikely, I hadn't made a big enough splash for a change that drastic. Though she could win through genjutsu and thinking smart. There was after all, always a chance.

Konohamaru shot around a corner, laughing victoriously when the kunai I had half-heartedly thrown after him missed. Not that I'd actually been aiming to hit him, but I'd had to make it look like I was trying. It was only when I heard the 'oomph' of a body colliding with something did I allow my senses to sharpen, each one suddenly ultrasensitive. I could smell... Sand?

Skidding around the corner, I froze in place at the sight before me.

Two Suna shinobi had Konohamaru in their grasp. Or rather the male did. The female just had her hands on her hips, attempting to look intimidating. Had I not face down Zabuza or those Iwa hunter nins, then maybe it'd have worked. But I was far from your run of the mill Genin now.

"That hurt you little brat."

I was reaching for a kunai before I recognised who it was. Kankurō and Temari. Which meant, somewhere around here, was Gaara. I could probably have sensed him, had I put in the effort, but right now, I was more worried about the child currently in the hands of the Suna shinobi.

Because they weren't the kind Kankurō and Temari from the series, not yet.

"Don't, we'll get yelled at later," Temari grumbled, though still looking highly unconcerned with what her brother was up to.

Instead of reaching for a kunai, I subtly shifted until I was stood before both academy students, between them and the Suna shinobi and reached for a small slip of paper that I'd taken to storing in my pockets.

"Put Konohamaru down."

Two heads snapped to look at me, and I wasn't sure what they were seeing. Though I could feel a familiar bubbling anger churning around in my stomach, it was nowhere near the level of intensity that would be required for my eyes to redden, for my fingernails to become claws.

Still though, any Jonin level sensor within a hundred meters will have no doubt clocked the sudden surge. I would have backup in mere seconds, even if they were just coming to check out what had set me off, they'd see the Third's grandson in the hands of a stranger, and then they'd react.

Yet, I couldn't rely on that fact. There was always a chance there wasn't a sensor close enough. I threw the paper tag, watching as Temari and Kankurō tensed, but both relaxed upon seeing the paper that'd landed on Kankurō's chest wasn't an explosive seal.

"Tch, Leaf Genin are weak," Kankurō grunted, going to give Konohamaru another shake. But his muscles wouldn't obey.

"Wha-"

"I wouldn't try move if I were you, that's a paralysis seal. If I pump in too much chakra, I might accidentally end up stopping your heart." I gave a delicate shrug, watching Temari's face drain of blood faster than I'd ever have expected a human capable of. Kankurō's purple face paint was suddenly standing out that much more against the white of his face, unable to move an inch. And while it wasn't ideal for Konohamaru to still be in his grasp, this was much more advantageous for us.

If anyone happened upon this scene, then it was quite clear what was happening. And right now, Kankurō couldn't hurt Konohamaru even if he tried.

As luck would have it, there was a tell-tale swish as a ninja body-flickered into existence beside me.

Uchiha Shisui stood there, one hand on his younger cousin's shoulder and red eyes assessing the scene before him.

"I was going to ask why you were leaking that chakra Naruto-chan," he began pleasantly, rocking back on his heels but eyes completely focused on Kankurō's suddenly sweating form, "but I think I can take a guess. You look like you have things under control though."

Grinning in sweet relief, I released my seal, Kankurō's muscles automatically unclenching and thus freeing Konohamaru, who was quick to scamper back to our side. In fact, he was rather swift to hide behind my form the second he could, Moegi and Udon joining him. Regardless, I still heard Udon whisper that I was 'so smart' to be able to use seals.

"What are you idiots doing in our village?" Sasuke scowled, folding his arms after squaring his shoulders. The male from Sand looked like he desperately wanted to show Sasuke exactly why he was in our village, but the sight of Shisui's Jonin vest seemed to be putting him off a bit. Thankfully, that choice was taken from him.

"Kankurō, stop it. You're an embarrassment to our village." Hanging upside down from the underside of a branch, the source of the voice was looking over the lot of us with cool teal eyes. Emotionless teal eyes. _Gaara_.

You could almost feel the nerves that began pouring off the Sand Genin at their youngest siblings declaration. I had to hand it to the boy though, he was sneaky. Very stealthy to get into that position without instantly gaining my notice. Had I not actually been aware he was going to appear, he'd have surprised me. Understandable considering that I was focusing on the threat Kankurō made to Konohamaru, but not looking around for additional hostiles would only end up getting a ninja killed in the field.

"Losing control of yourself in a fight, how pathetic. Why do you think we came to the Leaf Village?"

"Listen Gaara, th-they started it, and-"

"Shut up. I'll kill you."

And you could feel it, the intent pouring off of the boy. He truly meant it. He would not hesitate to kill the older boy if he got in his way. Gaara, he was like me. A Jinchuriki. But he hadn't had a Third Hokage. Hadn't had a Kakashi. The one person he'd had had betrayed him on a level so intimate that I couldn't even begin to comprehend it. If Kakashi was ever sent to kill me, ever accepted the orders...

It'd break me too. But I'd still have Shisui, and Sasuke and Kiba to hold on to. I'd be broken, but there'd be people to put me back together.

Gaara hadn't had that. Instead, it was Shukaku who'd built him up into what he was today. Would the Kyūbi have done the same to me?

No. I only just managed to decide upon a negative when a growl tore through my mindscape and I clutched at my head, scowling. Kyūbi wouldn't have reduced me to that. He was a proud Bijū, and he wouldn't want a broken container like that.

At least, I hope not.

"Naruto?"

Looking up at Sasuke, I offered him a pained grimace, mouthing 'fox' to the Uchiha as I straightened up. His expression tightened. He might have told Kiba that the fox was nothing more than a power boost, but it still unsettled him. I could see it, and that made me uncomfortable too. While Sasuke treated me the same as always, it was clear some thoughts now crossed his mind that wouldn't have had I not told him.

But I was glad I did. Because both he and Kiba stood by me. Neji had said we were at an understanding, which was pretty much Hyūga speak for nothing had changed. Gaara had just been unlucky to end up in the Sand village. It needed a kick start, Leaf Village style.

Hopefully, things would all work out in the end.

"Hang on, are you brats here for the Chũnin exams?" Shisui called, gathering the attention of all three. Gaara's eyes seemed to pass between Shisui, myself and then Sasuke, before settling on the oldest of us and nodding.

"Well try not to go around assaulting the Third's grandson, okay? Unless you want to be stuck Genin for the rest of your life that is." I had thought Kankurō could get no paler, but apparently, I was wrong.

"You, with the gourd," Sasuke's voice echoed through our little backstreet, gathering Gaara's attention again, "what's your name?"

"Gaara, of the desert. I'm also interested in your name. And the girl's."

I tensed at the tone. It rang with the same tone a trio of dead Iwa shinobi had used years ago, back when I'd been called the brat that trailed after Hatake. While Sasuke didn't quite seem to notice the killer intent that was calmly radiating off of Gaara, too used to the sledgehammer effect that Zabuza had used, Shisui instantly stiffened, shifting his footwork so that, should an attack come our way, he'd be able to protect the five of us.

"It's Uchiha Sasuke. And this is my teammate, Uzumaki Naruto."

Clenching my fist, I forced my feet to remain rooted to the spot, to not walk up to Gaara and introduce myself correctly, to give up my identity as the Leaf's Jinchuriki. Not only would I have no idea how the redhead would react, the Third would rip me a new one for telling a foreigner. My fellow Jinchuriki seemed to note my stare, locking our gaze for a few seconds of silence.

Silence that was broken by Konohamaru.

"Nee-chan! You're staring! You don't have a crush on that guy, right?!" If the Sand trio had cooled down a bit since Konohamaru first drew attention to himself, well, it only made their reactions all the more obvious when he spoke up again.

Temari's mouth popped open, Kankurō's eyes bulged and most tellingly of all was the confusion that flashed across Gaara's face.

"Not quite Otouto. You won't understand for a long while." At least, if I had anything to say about it. The longer Konohamaru went with his innocence, without the knowledge that the girl he saw as an older sister was considered a weapon of mass destruction by her village, the better. It wouldn't be long until he had to shed that innocence, to grow up. I'd treasure it for as long as I can.

Finally, the Sand trio seemed to collect themselves, disappearing in a swirl of grit that their village was famous for.

"Well," Shisui started, rubbing his hands together with a disturbing grin on his face, "I'll let you two go meet up with Kakashi and I'll make sure these little delinquents get back to the Academy lecture they're missing."

"What?!" Rounding on the trio, I planted my hands on my hips, scowling fiercely as I did so. All three shrunk back and my veins thrummed with pride. Now if only that would work on Kakashi, I'd be on a winner.

"You can't skip out on the academy if you want to graduate? Where do you think I learnt it all?"

"From Kakashi-sensei!" Konohamaru answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And I had to admit, it took a great deal of effort to bite my tongue. I hadn't really learnt a hell of a lot from the academy. I'd passed so early on self study, on seeking out ninja that wouldn't sabotage my learning like the academy teachers of my time had.

Regardless, telling the trio of students that would pretty much amount to giving them a free pass to skip out on the lectures. And not everyone could use and abuse the shadow clone jutsu like I had. So they needed to go.

Shisui seemed to think so too, because he gathered them up effortlessly by the scruffs of their necks, waving happily with one hand as the other kept a tight hold on all three shirts.

"See you for dinner Naruto-chan!"

With nothing but a few dancing leaves betraying Shisui's departure, I turned to Sasuke, who had pocketed his hands and was now looking at me with a strange expression on his face. I would never understand boys. I hadn't in my previous life, and twelve more years of living hadn't been any help either. In fact, it'd probably just made them a bit stranger.

"Shall we go meet up with the rest of our team then Sasuke?" Elbowing the other boy in the upper arm, I shot up onto the rooftops, grinning. Sasuke instantly understood my intentions, and our race to the training ground began. I still won, even with the heavy weight of premonitions that'd sunk into my stomach.

 

 

"Wait, why isn't Naruto a Chũnin already?"

Looking down at the sheet of paper that was held delicately between my finger tips, I allowed a low sigh to pass between my lips at the thought. Instead, I cocked my head to a side, allowing Kakashi to field that particular question.

"Maa, Kaichō-chan decided she didn't want to become a Chũnin without teammates her age. The fact that she gets to spend more time as my apprentice and learning from me was just an unexpected boon, I'm sure."

In truth, I wanted to be in the Chũnin exams right now because this was where I could make the most impact, but of course Kakashi didn't know that. My sensei had actually been pretty insistent, in his own way of off-handed comments and  forcing me to go about looking underneath the underneath, that I take the Chũnin exams with a real team. Not just get thrown at one missing a member like he had so long ago. I figured that Kakashi felt such a move had messed up his young psyche far too early, not going through such an experience with trusted teammates.

Which was probably why he'd never pushed me to further myself, other than quietly enquiring every year over if I felt I was ready for a promotion.

"Feeling ready this year Kaichō-chan?" Speaking of-

Looking up at Kakashi, I grinned, warmth stirring in my bones at the proud glint in his single grey eyes.

"I have two awesome teammates, how can we not totally boss this exam?"

"Yeah!" Kiba leapt to his feet, fist pumping the air and far more obvious about his enthusiastic excitement than either Sasuke or myself were. I'd let him express the emotion for the three of us.

"We're totally gonna win this thing! Team seven for the win!"

Chuckling, I placed my hand over his, noting the sticky BBQ syrup that had to have been left over from his lunch. After a second of hesitation, Sasuke's warm, smooth hand came to rest above my own and we all looked expectantly at Kakashi. The older ninja gave a sigh, but nevertheless joined in, his gloved hand dwarfing ours in comparison.

"I feel like I should offer some cheesy words of encouragement," our much beloved sensei began, pulling out Icha Icha from his weapons pouch and far more focused on it than he was us, "but maa, all I can say is don't lose to Gai's team. I'll never hear the end of it." At that exasperated comment, myself and Kiba grinned, Sasuke smirking as we threw our hands upwards, Kakashi's limb the only one lacking any true enthusiasm.

But I knew he was with us in spirit at least.

 

 

Later on in the day, so late it was nearing midnight, the stars twinkling overhead, I laid awake in my bed.

I was going to make another attempt at reaching out to Kurama. Now that he knew the full truth, I had someone I could talk my plans though, even if it didn't care. It was still nice to voice my opinions aloud and not have to worry about a nearby ninja reporting me to the Hokage. Or the ANBU whisking me off to T&I. Closing my eyes, I slowed my breathing, waiting for the now familiar sensation of falling back into my mind.

When I opened my eyes, it was to murky water and golden bars. The low rumble as the Kyūbi drew in a breath was the only sound for several seconds before I cut off the chakra to my feet, allowing the water to swallow my legs up just past my ankles.

" **Brat.** " At the very least, it appeared we'd gotten to the point of the Kyūbi acknowledging my existence.

Sighing, I sat myself down on the water's surface as one would a step, my feet still under the murky liquid that was my mindscape. Was there no way to change it, to make it into something more appealing? More pleasant? I'd have to ask Ino at some point in the future, if anyone would know then it would be she.

"There's a very high possibility that Orochimaru of the Sanin and traitor to the village will be coming after me and my teammates shortly."

Another roar of displaced wind echoed through the room as Kyūbi snorted, followed shortly by the sound of water lapping around the dry skin of my ankles. Dressed in the usual oversized tee-shirt -I'd gotten it for a bargain of a price- and the pair of panties that made up my sleeping attire, I felt both exposed and comfortable in the presence of the Kyūbi. It was almost sickeningly domestic, something I hadn't felt for years. Not since I'd become a ninja anyway. To be domestic was to be involved in home and family, along with the kind of relaxation that would get a ninja killed.

"I'm not a match for Orochimaru, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. There also a good chance he will be leaving us alive and in good enough condition to complete the task required, but a good enough chance is not full certainty... I, I thought it was best to ask if you'll allow me to borrow some of your chakra, instead of just expecting you to supply me at the fight so I don't die... Fate favours the prepared and all that rubbish." Leaning forwards, I dropped my head into my waiting hand, elbow supported by my knee and blonde hair spilling over my shoulders to hang before my body.

" **And why, brat, should I favour you? Why should I bother to listen to our woes when there are all those other useless ningens for you to confer with.** "

Gritting my teeth, I let my eyes trail along the large length of the Kyūbi, stopping at the brilliant red eye that had opened not too far from where I sat. He looked... Well, bored.

"The main reason? Because any other person would have regurgitated everything I said right back to the Hokage. To you, who's lifespan I can't even begin to comprehend, well, it's nothing more than amusement to you right now. The danger doesn't appear to be here, so I doubt you're taking this as seriously as you probably should. But also because in the end, everything that happens to me effects you extension, so if anyone should feel the need to get a say in my plans, it you." Running a hand through my unbound hair, I sighed, snatching up a trio of strands and beginning to plait it. I'd gotten so used to running through hand-seals in the real world whenever I had nothing to do, of being able to pull out a brush and work on Fūinjutsu, that when it came to having nothing to do in my mindscape, I was a little lost.

" **And why would you bothering asking at all. To you, we were nothing more than fiction.** "

"To everyone else here, the Sage is nothing more than fiction, but to you, he was a father," I ploughed on before Kyūbi could even begin to rant about the fact I dared to bring up his old man, knowing that if he got started, he never stop. "But now that I have personal experience, have interacted with some of the cast, they're not just a character to me now. I've seen things that didn't get shown in the play, story, whatever you want to call it. They're people to me now, precious ones. And I will protect them. It's only right that if I give all those characters a chance, including yourself."

There was a moment of quiet, nothing but the sound of my soft breathe leaving between my lips. And then an almighty crash as the Kyūbi settled himself into a new position, eyes closed again.

" **Do not get killed by Shukaku's host. I'll never live it down if you do.** "

And that was the end of that conversation.

 

* * *

 

 

There was a lot of things Shikamaru liked to think about. And there were even more things he liked to avoid thinking about. Females slotted quite nicely into the latter option.

As it so happened though, one of his teammates was female, so unfortunately, he'd had to spend more time assessing the female gender than he would have liked. All in the hopes of finding some way to slide around his bossy teammate and get in some much needed cloud watching.

Unfortunately though, that was as likely to happen as the chances of getting around his mother. Which was to say, not at all.

Previous, he had thought Ino and his mother were both a special breed of woman, back before his academy days. However, when he'd entered that classroom, at the tender age of eight, he'd come to the distasteful conclusion that all females were the same; bossy and demanding that was.

The only girl that had not reinforced that ideal was Hyūga Hinata, and Shikamaru knew that no matter how much he wished it so, he wouldn't have her as a teammate. She might have been the only girl that would allow him to get away with cloud watching, relaxing.

But that dream had been shattered already, so he didn't bother to put any more effort into the thought, other than to wonder what could have been whenever Ino started on a longer nagging tirade than normal.

On the topic of female genin though, Shikamaru's thoughts wondered to his sensei's words the previous day.

' _Keep an eye out for Uzumaki Naruto and try to avoid her if you can; a lack of skill is not why she's still a  Genin_ '.

In all honesty, it was a pretty broad warning, but it'd been enough for Shikamaru to go digging.

Out of all the Genin that'd passed the secondary tests in his age group, Uzumaki was the only one he didn't have any first person data for. He'd never met her, and only got a curious glance at the blonde during their team placement day. Whiskered cheeks, bright blue eyes and tanned skin. Enough of a glance to recognise her without an introduction, but it was an uncomfortable lack of information.

Ino had filled him in on what she'd gotten from the girl, but the two of them clearly shared a different ideal when it came to relevant information. Though the fact that she, according to Ino, didn't have any interest in romantic relationships was quite important. That meant she was a serious Kunoichi, and thus, one to really watch out for.

Upon asking his dad, Shikamaru had found out that she'd been apprenticed under Hatake Kakashi, a big shot Jonin, since her graduation near six years ago. Also, she'd been taken out on missions higher than C-rank. A good amount of B-ranks, and even a handful of A-ranks. And while it was true she'd been working with a Jonin on those missions, the fact she was considered skilful enough to not get in the way and to be an aid on those missions, spoke volumes.

 

 

Which was why when the doors to the examination room opened up and a trio of Genin stepped in, Shikamaru's eyes sharpened, even as Ino threw herself at Sasuke. Uzumaki had followed Ino's flight path with bemusement in her eyes, but didn't seem at all annoyed as the Yamanaka hung from her teammates In fact, she sent her raven haired teammate a teasing grin when Haruno Sakura, another bossy, too loud female attached herself to Sasuke's other side.

The fact that the Uchiha did not instantly go into a mood with the blonde let Shikamaru know they were close enough to tease one another, that Sasuke respected her enough to allow such a pleasant relationship. So she had to be strong then, no other doubt about it.

"Ah! We're all here then! All eight rookies!" Kiba Inuzuka grinned, both hands stuffed into his pockets with is ninken perched happily upon his hood covered head.

"You seem confident, Kiba-baka!" Sakura snapped, gaining the attention of the rest of the group.

Shikamaru though, sucked in a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do. He'd rather not, but he needed a good reading on the girl.

"Maybe you should introduce your teammate Kiba."

Instantly the blonde's attention snapped to him, sapphire eyes narrowed, assessing. She stepped forwards, and then gave a low nod of her head, polite with both her arms held before her body. She was wearing orange, no one who was unsure of themselves would wear such a bright colour. Great.

"It's nice to meet Kiba and Sasuke's classmates, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, please take care of me." It was a traditional greeting, but he could already seeing Sakura, Ino, Chōji and hell, even Shino writing her off. She'd implied that she needed taking care of, that she'd like them to do the work for her. Sneaky.

"Tch, Nara Shikamaru." Then he turned to the two male members of team seven, frowning. "You two really lucked out."

And while Sakura and Ino clearly thought he meant because Naruto didn't come across as bossy, he knew that the Uchiha had at least picked up on his intention. That he'd noticed she was skill at deception, that he'd done his research. The muscle toning in that girl's arms clearly didn't form overnight, no, she'd toiled for hours to get that kind of lithe physique.

Which is why when the older Leaf Genin offers them aid with those so called 'nin-info cards', he asks for what he has on Uzumaki once he is done offering Sasuke his requested information.

"Right then, Uzumaki Naruto." The white haired nin let out a low whistle, staring down at the card before him. Uzumaki's photo wasn't too old, didn't appear too different. She'd clearly had it redone since graduation. Before Kabuto resumed speaking, Shikamaru looked up and caught sight of a redhead Genin from Suna obviously listening in, those his teal eyes were focused on Naruto with an intensity that made Shikamaru uncomfortable. It certainly wasn't anything like how his sensei looked at that Kurenai woman.

"Graduated aged six from the academy at the top of her class. Her mission history," here there was another impressed whistle, "54 D-ranks, 23 C-ranks, 62 B-ranks and 9 A-ranks?! What kind of Genin gets missions like that?!"

With new eyes, Shikamaru took another look at the blonde who didn't appear to be paying Kabuto the slightest bit of attention. Instead her eyes were scanning the crowds, burning blue fire. Looking for eavesdroppers, potential threats.

When it became obvious that Naruto wasn't going to answer, Kabuto begrudgingly carried on, opening the eyes of all the Genin currently crowded around him when it came to their age mate.

"Her sensei is Hatake Kakashi, ninjutsu and taijutsu and well above average for a Genin, but, err, that has to me a mistake? It says no Genjutsu skills?" No genjutsu skills?

Shikamaru looked back at the girl who was finally paying them some attention, her lips pressed into a straight frown.

"No, it's correct. I'll never manage anything more with genjutsu other than dispelling them." Her voice wasn't quite the high pitch of Ino or Sakura's, nor was it the shy, nervous tones of Hinata. Instead it was just a shade too mature for her face, as if the girl had seen too much, done too much. If her mission history here was honest, that was entirely possible.

"I've got a note saying that she's a Fūinjutsu specialist? That's impressive for a Genin. Despite graduating at six, she's never entered a Chũnin exam before..." Kabuto trailed off, clearly out of information, but Shikamaru had heard more than enough.

Fūinjutsu was difficult, his father had laminated often about the lack of competent Jonin when it came to that particular skill. There were very, very few Fūinjutsu specialists in the village, the last one to gain that rank had been the Fourth Hokage, though he had heard a few people were trying out for the title. For a girl his age to be classified as such, that made her dangerous.

He could already see the intrigue in Chōji's eyes, the same fondness in both Sasuke and Kiba's eyes. It wouldn't last though. It was just because she was new, a change from what they were used to. A girl that wasn't nervous, that didn't squeal and swoon over a pretty face was unfamiliar to them.

Shikamaru likened it to when the females in their age group would go through puberty. They would start getting curves, new physical attributes that were different than normal, so obviously they'd pay some attention before things would settle done and they'd go about as normal.

It was the same case here, just with a personality trait instead of a physical one. And while he too was interested in the girl, he could recognise it for the mental interest rather than the emotional one his year-mates believed it to be. Uzumaki Naruto was exotic to them, and until they figured her out and she lost her originality, she would remain so.

Nothing time wouldn't fix in the end.

 

* * *

 

 

We were assigned our seats by the head of T&I. I'd never actually formally met him, only trotted after Kakashi that one time to drop off Mizuki.

Witnessing the Sound Ninja's beat up Kabuto earlier, I'd felt vindictive pleasure swirl about in my stomach, though I was unsure if it belong solely to me, or if the fox had taken to fuelling my darker emotions. I'd sat on the issue with Kabuto for a while, on whether to oust him as a spy or not. While I knew Kakashi would believe me if I said I had suspicions, that wasn't to say anyone else would.

Secondly, I might have need of him. We were going to encounter Orochimaru in this test. It was unavoidable. My main plan was to keep Sasuke out of reach until the ANBU arrived. If this would work or not, well, let's put it this way. I wasn't too hopeful. Regardless, I was almost certain the Sanin would want us in the finals, which meant completing the second task. Which meant our team needed to be alive and in good enough health to complete the second test.

Having Kabuto around during that time, even if he wasn't helping us from the goodness of his heart, would still be an aid to the three of us.

For Sasuke and Kiba, this exam was about becoming a Chũnin.

For me, it was another trial to stay alive.

Only, I had to keep both my two teammates alive. Which meant staying conscious, and keeping them in as good of a condition as I could.

Gently pulling at my lower lip, my tongue darted out quick to catch the bead of blood that throve there, eyes darting to look at my neighbours. I'd ended up assigned the seat between Kankurō and a Rain Genin, and neither seemed any happier about it than I was.

Tapping my fingernails against the desk as I waited for our exam to start, I tried not to twitch too much in excitement. While I was certainly in no hurry to finish this exam, I was excited to see my plan put into action. I had faith in both Sasuke and Kiba to realize that cheating was necessary to win this thing, but I had still dropped a hint that usually, there was a survival test and an information gathering test. From the sudden adjustment they made to their postures as the rules were announced, I knew they noticed it.

Scratching at my nose to hide the smirk on my face, I picked up my pencil and let my eyes trail down to look at the page before me.

Time to begin.

 

 

It was fifteen minutes into the exam when it happened. A kunai went soaring past my shoulder and I spun around, taking note of the purple haired genin that'd had the weapon tear into his test sheet.

"What was that for?!" He was on his feet instantly, fists clenched and a scowl on his face.

"You messed up five times," one of the Chũnin examiners calmly mused, folding one arm across his lap while the other lazily waved his clipboard, "you fail."

"N-No way!" But instead of a loud cry of outrage from the rest of his teammates, the trio just stood up as one.

And then disappeared in a poof of smoke.

The audible confusion in the room was music to my eyes as the shadow clones memories hit me. Each one of them had been assigned three questions, and each one had gotten the answers I needed. They'd not had to be subtle about their cheating, because they were only disguised clones. They could get thrown out of the exam, but really, they weren't even a part of it.

I could hear Kiba's snicker, no doubt he'd recognised the three had my scent, regardless of their appearance. At the very least, that part of the plan appeared to have gone quite well, I now had all the answers I needed until the tenth question. My memories on this part were a little fuzzy, considering back when I was reading the manga, there'd been little action during the first test, and as such, I hadn't paid it as much attention as I wished I had. Hell, every day I wished I'd gone over the manga with a fine-toothed comb, that I had memorized everything.

Evidently it was too late for that now.

Regardless, I had a better head-start than the other Naruto, and with any luck, my foreknowledge will make up for my shortcomings as a person.

 

 

The tenth questions came and passed, all the while I kept quiet, relaxed in my seat. Kankurō got up and used the bathroom at one point, but when he came back I could feel both his and the Rain ninja's confusion over the fact I'd done nothing for the first fifteen minutes, and then just wrote down all the answers, all at once.

While it might be a bit obvious that I'd done so right after those three Genin had disappeared into smoke, shadow clones was a Leaf Village technique, and while they might know enough about our village to recognise such at technique, they wouldn't know it's inner workings. Wouldn't know that shadow clone memories could be transferred to the original.

And while the examiners would without doubt know it was me -seeing as I was the only Leaf Genin in this exam with enough chakra to keep three solid clones going and not even look winded- they wouldn't be able to pin it on me, seeing as I'd summed the clones long before we'd gotten to the academy.

"I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

Confusion rippled through the ranks and I have to admit, even my own features twitched a bit. What a horrid question. Forcing us to take a leap of faith, or to leave us at Genin rank forever. However, as nasty as it was, it was effective. Only those serious about their career as ninja, only those with an iron will would press forwards. Exactly what they were looking for when it came to being a Chũnin.

A sigh escaped my lips as I leant back, pulling a granola bar from my jacket pocket and taking a bite of the mix. Kankurō shot me a dirty look from the corner of his eyes, so without hesitation I broke off the bit I hadn't chewed and offered it to him, already knowing he wouldn't take it. He worked with puppets, and more importantly, poison. He was probably well aware that most ninjas trained themselves to be resistant to poison through dosing their own food with a miniscule amount and then building it up from there. He probably figured that I was trying to poison him before the next test, when in reality, poison was the one thing I'd never have to worry about.

As the rolling ball that was our second examiner burst through the window, I twisted in my seat to get a better look at Sasuke and Kiba's reaction. Both seemed a bit mystified by the sight of Anko. I'd seen her in passing when I stopped by the dango shop to pick up a batch for Shisui, usually when I needed to butter up the Uchiha and didn't have the time to cook my own food.

Of course, considering I wasn't the same Naruto as the series had witnessed previously, someone with a personality such as Anko would be a big cultural shock to the two of them.

Regardless, I followed after the group when Anko ordered us to do so, effortlessly slipping through the masses until I was walking alongside Sasuke and Kiba.

"I assume the shadow clones were your work?" Sasuke's voice was quiet as he spoke, eyes still focused forwards but amusement tweaked his lips up into a little smirk.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Kiba barked a hushed chuckle, Akamaru echoing him from where he was trotting beside our legs.

"Well anyway, first test passed."

Yeah, and now the real test begins.

 

 

Entering the little stand that'd been set up for the exchange of scrolls, I took one look at my teammates and the boys let out a low groan but nevertheless stripped off their jacket and shirts.

Anko actually choked a bit at the sudden behaviour, her eyebrows raising as I pulled out a brush and rapidly began to ink a storage seal onto the centre of Kiba's back.

"Well," she began, prowling forwards to watch my well trained movements, "you've certainly got them trained."

"We covered carrying high priority documents, they know that if we're doing that they're getting a storage seal for it. It's best if I don't have it, don't want people undoing the wrong seal, you know?"

At that, Anko visibly paled at the thought, as did several of the to her Chũnin in the room. While Sasuke and Kiba might not have a problem with me talking so casually of my Jinchuriki status, that didn't mean those who'd been old enough to remember than night would be able to ignore it so easily.

"Yeah, probably for the best brat," Anko grumbled, ruffling my hair and looking a bit put out when my twin pigtails failed to fall from the bonds. Once Kiba was finished, I blew on the design, pumping it with chakra before turning to Sasuke and beginning the same process, but on his left pectoral.

"Wait, why's he getting one?" Kiba asked, head hovering beside my own and watching my brush dance expertly back and forth. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but thankfully answered Kiba's enquiry. I quite liked sticking my tongue out between my lips whenever I was working on a seal, there was just something calming about the gesture, it felt natural for whenever I was concentrating.

"We'll have two scrolls eventually Dobe, it's best to split them up between us."

Nodding, I blew on Sasuke's new seal, making a mental note to remove both it and Kiba's once we got to the tower, unless they wanted to keep them for whatever reason.

"Alright Kiba," I murmured, activating my chakra and sealing the storage scroll up in his seal. Sasuke grumbled, but nevertheless pulled his shirt back on. There was, after all, less chance of the others seeing Kiba's seal due to the boy wearing at big heavy jacket as well as a shirt.

"You took a while brats, they're all going to know you did something."

Shrugging my shoulders, I walked after Sasuke and Kiba, ignoring the looks we got from all the other Genin as we left. We'd taken at least triple the amount of time as everyone else, and suspicion laid heavily on our shoulders. Following at the Chũnin that was to lead up to our gate, I shot both of my teammates a look, a silent order for them to keep quiet until we were alone.

 

 

After a minute of running into the Forest of Death, we skidded to a halt, Sasuke leaning against a tree and looking expectantly at me. With a sigh, I pulled the second scroll from my pocket, unable to help my smug smirk as Kiba gawked.

"How the hell did you get that?" He hissed, patting at his own back, as if to reassure himself at the scroll I'd stuck in his seal hadn't been a trick.

"A light genjutsu from Sasuke kept the examiners attention on us," I explained, pulling up the Uchiha's shirt and sealing the scroll as quickly as possible, "while I had some clones use a tweaked body replacement technique to switched out a henged clone with the real scroll that we need. Just pretend we've lost our scroll to another group already until we get to the tower."

Kiba cackled, actually cackled.

"That's so underhanded I think Kakashi-sensei would be proud."

Unable to help my grin at the thought, because if there was one thing Kakashi had taught us it was all about thinking underneath the underneath, I turned to Sasuke, waiting for his opinion. The boy was just grinning, looking very excited, and very pleased to know we could head straight to the tower. I suppose if you didn't know what was coming, it seemed like everything was slotting together quite nicely.

My stomach was churning with nerves though, my teeth cutting into the tender flesh of my inner cheeks as we made our way forwards.

I'd done as much as I could to get us there as fast as I could, but I was still only a Genin, regardless of extra years of experience I had over my teammates. My Rasengan wasn't complete, I didn't even know where to start on the Flying Thunder God, because quite obviously my original attempt was going nowhere; I'd scrapped those plans weeks ago, starting over from the beginning. Not that it'd done me any good, I was still completely lost when it came to recreating my father's most famous technique.

It'd have been damn useful in this situation though. I could only hope that we'd have enough of a head start to avoid Orochimaru. I didn't keep my hopes up though, it was better to prepare for the worst. That way, I couldn't be let down by anything that happens.

The wind started to pick up, and I was a second too late to sense the chakra infused into it, the chakra that let me know that this was not a natural gale of the forest, but a deliberate attempt to separate us. And it was going to succeed.

"Enemies?!" Sasuke grunted, and it was the last thing I heard before I was blown away, rocketing in the opposite direction to my teammates.

A swear passed through my lips before I could stop it, and I flinched, already expecting Kakashi to come down out of nowhere and swat me over the back of the head for such an exclamation. He'd conditioned me that well in regards to swearing. Of course, given that he read porn on a daily basis I didn't think he should have had much of a say really, but I wasn't about to say it to his face.

 

 

I came to a stop at the base of a large tree, every last one of my limbs aching from the way I'd been ploughed across the landscape. Almost certain that there was a Naruto shaped hole in several trees, I forced myself upwards until I was stood tall, gingerly, on both feet. My left ankle throbbed, clearly sprained, but it'd all be okay in a minute.

I could press through the pain, I'd been trained for this. Sasuke and Kiba on the other hand, had not been trained enough. Nowhere near enough for who they were about to face and I was not with them! Hell, I doubt even Kakashi-sensei was trained enough for this situation.

Panic had my throat clenching as my eyes scanned the undergrowth, sight landing on the hole in the nearby tree that was indeed round about Naruto sized. At least I had an idea where I was goin-

I leapt to the left, only just dodging he ridiculous big snake fang that dug into the ground where I'd just been standing. Spinning on my heel, I ran through a series of handseals, heart beating in time with the drums of war from within my chest.

"Wind Release; Great Slashing Zephyr!" The wind whipped out instantly, tearing away at the humongous snake as I twisted in place, shooting towards my previous path of destruction. I moved at speeds I'd only ever managed with Kakashi before, speeds I'd not had much chance to use while on D-rank missions. Urgency raced through my veins and the only reason I wasn't physically sick with worry was because I knew if I had to stop to throw up, it'd only delay my arrival.

Thirty seconds into my mad dash, I didn't even need to keep an eye out for my path of destruction, instead I was able to sense the immense chakra reserves, the burst of concentrated killer intent that just had to be Orochimaru. Flooding my limbs with more chakra, perhaps more than what was wise, I leapt from another tree branch, blasting it apart as a result of using far too much chakra to jump from it.

As I honed in on the location of my teammates, I clenched my fists, trying to force myself to calm down, to go into this fight with a levelled head. I'd thought that maybe I'd be able to handle this, because it'd all turn out alright in the end. An hour ago I'd accepted what was currently happening as an unavoidable situation, even if I'd tired to get us around it.

I knew we should come out okay, but that didn't stop my heart from nearly bursting out of my chest, it didn't stop my insides from clenching hard enough to make it seem like my stomach was going to explode. It didn't explain the sparkling tears of absolute panic that welled in the corners of my eyes. Because I'd gotten attached damn it, and leaving Sasuke and Kiba at the hands of Orochimaru when I could be there was not going to happen. Even if I couldn't do any damage, even if I ended up injured, I was going to fight for my teammates.

Because that's what they were; no longer character in a book, linked lines upon paper. They were living, breathing people.

My living breathing people.

And they would continue to live and breathe if I had anything to say about it. Live well at that.

 

 

Elongated neck. Long black hair. That stupid rope belt.

"SASUKE!" The scream tore through my throat before I could stop it, hot blooded anger surging through my veins faster than I'd ever felt it do so. Not even fighting the Iwa nin, not even when my own life had been in danger had I felt this much hate towards an enemy, this much desire to kill something.

The burning, scorching feel of the Kyūbi's chakra raced through my body at the same time gratitude shone somewhere in my mind, recognising that the fox had given what I'd asked of him. But I was too late and Sasuke had been bitten and Orochimaru would pay.

"Naruto?!" Kiba cried from the forest floor, looking thoroughly beaten up, cradling Akamaru to his chest protectively. His jacket had been ripped to shreds, leaving him in a simple black tee-shirt, much like the one I wore under my own jacket. Only, Kiba's actually covered his midriff.

The bark didn't just crack beneath my feet and I launched myself at Orochimaru, the branch completely snapped clean in too, falling to the forest floor with an echoing thump. I paid it no attention, Instead looking for any and every opening to bring pain down on Orochimaru.

Somewhere behind me, Sasuke let out a scream that no doubt tore at his throat and it fuelled me more, a full tail of burning Kyūbi chakra latching onto a tree trunk to swing me around and go for Orochimaru again, who'd dodged my attacked the first time. I swiped out, chakra claws extending outwards and gorging deep, heavy marks into the ground. They'd have torn through his flesh with easy if I was just able to get a hold on him.

Snarling, I thrust both my hands into the ground, feeling the tainted chakra pour down my limbs, surge through the earth and explode upwards to latch onto Orochimaru's  legs. He hissed, and then simply shed the injured skin as if he were a snake, smoothly emerging from his own mouth and looking none the worse off for it. Snarling, shot forwards, belatedly recognising that I was bolting forwards on all fours, clawed fingers digging into the soft dirt and tail whipping about behind me, snapping at the air around us and burning every leaf it came into contact with.

"Hmmm, you could be a problem," Orochimaru mused, ducked my next swipe and then snarling when the arm of chakra instantly changed direction to follow after him. He disappeared in a flash of speed, and then my jacket was being lifted up, the scent of burning flesh invading my nostrils.

By the time I'd recognised that Orochimaru was mere inches from me, that it was his flesh burning because he'd grabbed hold of my jacket through the Kyūbi chakra, his five glowing fingers had already slammed into my stomach. Instantly the connection I'd felt with Kyūbi's chakra was gone, fizzling out like a candle under the rain.

Despair rolled through me as I was dropped to the forest floor, small arms wrapping around my form and only just managing to catch me. Kiba's wild eyes, wide with dread, stared down at me, his mouth moving both I wasn't hearing anything. Darkness crept into my vision and the unmistakable scent of fear was the last thing that registered.

I'd failed.

 

* * *

 

 

So far, nothing of importance had happened in this exam as far as Hyūga Neji was concerned. On the first day, they'd all sensed a heavy surge of chakra, the heaviest that Neji had ever felt in his thirteen years of life. But it'd been outside the range of his Byakugan, and thus, he'd felt no need to go and check it out. The threat wasn't within the range of his team, so he pushed down his curiosity, instead focusing upon retrieving a scroll they required.

On the second day, Tenten had decided that it was perhaps prudent to split up and go and look for a team with the scroll they required.

Not five minutes ago Neji had found and defeated the team with the scroll in question, after spending five minutes listening as they laminated the fact that the scroll they'd been given at the desk had disappeared five minutes into the test. While it gave him a headache to wonder over the fact, Neji was almost certain that Naruto had been the one to cause such a thing. How though, he had no idea, and didn't want to know as long as it wasn't going to affect him.

"Any visual on Lee yet?" Tenten asked from beside him, jumping from tree to tree with an expert ease that came only through hours of practice. Letting out a low sigh, Neji brought his hands together in a seal. He didn't need it, but the handseal did ease the concentration it required to activate his Byakugan, so for now he'd allow even his teammates to underestimate him. He felt his heart miss a beat though when he registered what he was seeing.

"Lee's in trouble!" And so was Naruto. She was out could, laid out in the base of an overly large tree. Her skin, usually so tanned, was white, clammy and covered his sweat. Someone had broken the zipper of her jacket, thus expose her stomach to the world.

And most importantly, the seal that should not be visible unless she was channelling chakra to it. The seal that looked different from what he remembered the other day, when she'd shown it to him the first time. Naruto, who had a seal like him, unwillingly placed on his body. A seal that made everyone see her as less than what she actually was. A seal that labelled her, but still protected all of Konoha.

A seal someone had tampered with.

Whoever had done it was not Genin level, Naruto was the only Genin to have an expertise when it came to Fūinjutsu, and while some of the other foreigners could maybe do so, Neji doubted it.

Pushing himself forwards, the Hyūga reached a branch to oversee the fight below them, his eyes instantly trailing over form Naruto to her teammates.

The Inuzuka looked battered, but the Uchiha, something was wrong with the Uchiha. There was a chakra that was not his own swirling around him, embedded in his skin. Leaking from a seal on his shoulder. It wasn't one of Naruto's, he knew Naruto's signature, her chakra pathways, knew them as well as he knew his own hands. So whoever had gotten Naruto, seemed to have gotten her teammate as well.

Why the Uchiha? Why was the Inuzuka not attacked in the same way?

The snap as the Uchiha broke his opponent's arms was enough to bring Neji back to what was happening and he leapt down straight away, eyeing the Uchiha cautiously when his fellow Dōjutsu user swirl around with angry red eyes to assess the latest person to join the group.

"Uchiha, what happened to Naruto." He hadn't meant to use her given name, hadn't mean to snap so quickly, but he was just a bit terrified. Whatever had happened to the Uchiha had clearly twisted him, had something similar happened to Naruto? Aside from Tenten, she was the only female within his age group that took her training seriously, the only one that understood what it was like to be given a seal without a choice.

The Uchiha snarled, but his eyes nevertheless shot over to the tree where Naruto was laying passed out. He seemed to debate with himself internally, clearly torn between beating up the rest of the team from Sound, or going to his teammate's aid.

Luckily, Naruto's obvious need for help won out, and the strange black markings slowly began to disappear.

Ignoring the lone Genin from Sound that was still standing, Neji strode across the clearing towards Naruto, dropping to his knees beside her and looking at the seal with a critical eye.

It had been adjusted, Naruto had told him enough about seals for him to pick out whenever one was placed atop another. He didn't know much more than that, only a half remembered lecture from the blonde about component stacking and interconnecting layers, but it'd meant nothing to him at the time and he still couldn't make head or tails of it when the information could clearly have been quite useful. He hadn't studied seals at all, ignoring everything about them because of the one branded across his own forehead.

"Do either of you have any knowledge on seals?" Neji snapped, looking at Naruto's two teammates. They hadn't been on a team for more than a year, but they would have spent a great deal of time with the blonde as a result, they had to have picked something or another up.

"Who the hell are you?" The Inuzuka snapped instead, bodily pushing his way past Tenten to landed in a graceless seat next to his female teammate.

"Naruto's sparring partner for near two years," Neji answered instead of giving his name, instead focusing on sweating blonde girl. Activating the Byakugan once again, Neji took another look at Naruto, focusing more on her chakra coils as he did so. A grimace of revulsion made itself known on the Hyūga's face as he studied the pathways, dread sinking into his bones as he did so.

Did Naruto's teammates know of the burden she carried? He couldn't remember if the girl had said her teammates were in the know. It was an S-ranked secret, so he couldn't come right out and say it. But since neither teammate seemed particular surprised at the sight of the black ink on her abdominals, and taking into account the fact that they tensed up when Neji reached out and prodded one of Naruto's oblique tenketsus open and closed in single quick motion, he'd say they had a pretty good idea at the danger of messing with that particular seal.

"The snake freak did something funny to it," the Inuzuka snarled, tone vicious as he gestured to the design that currently caged the Kyūbi.

"Do you know if Naruto will be able to fix it?" The Uchiha was asking the right questions at least.

Pupiless eyes drifting back to the unconscious from of the blond haired girl before him, Neji let a low sigh escape from between his lips.

"I've barely considered seals, but from Naruto has told me, she has more than a passing knowledge when it comes to Fūinjutsu. I've seen her remove plenty of seals that she'd previously set up, but it's possible that she'll be... Understandably hesitant to attempt it with this one."

Both boys grimaced at his words and Neji knew with certainty now that her teammates were aware of the importance of that seal.

"One way to find out, you need to wake her up Neji." Tenten murmured perplexedly from above him, Lee beside her and unusually quiet. He knew what they was thinking, the thoughts were running through his own head too.

Naruto had always been so strong, so much stronger than them. To see her brought so low was incredibly wretched. The blonde had always been stronger than them, always been better trained, more graceful, more experienced. It wasn't right that she was the one unconscious right now.

"Allow me a moment," Neji murmured, crouching beside Naruto's head and searching on the right tenketsu. There was a specific one that, when jolted with a bit of chakra, would rouse the recipient from unconsciousness. He doubted Naruto would be the outlier in this case.

Answers were what he needed, and right now, Naruto would probably be his best bet.

Because if there was someone in this exam that could take her down, then he and his team had a right to be worried.


	7. The Deviation

" **My power won't make a difference if you are incapable of using it!** "

The ear shattering boom of the Kyūbi's voice echoed through my mindscape as I laid, sprawled out in the water and staring at the metal patchwork that made up the ceiling above our heads. I couldn't summon the will to get up, it was all going horribly wrong.

I knew that Orochimaru was unavoidable, I had known. It'd been one of the only certainties of this exam so far. But, but I'd still somewhere in my heart, believed I'd have been able to pull a victory from my backside, much like Naruto always does. He got beaten down, but always got back up again, always fought for what was right and came out on top on the end. So why couldn't I manage it? Why was it that even when I put my all into it, I couldn't manage what a twelve year old boy done? Was I so inadequate?

" **I can smell your primitive brain burning out from here. This is not fiction you stupid brat, you can take nothing for granted, nothing! You are not a destined hero here, you just are!** "

Kyūbi's snarled tore through my thoughts, the force of air he exhaled rattling the bangs that rested on my forehead and cooling my burning cheeks.

Kyūbi was right though. I wasn't a hero, I wasn't a saviour here. I was just normal girl, I felt like a little girl that'd been dropped into shoes far too big for her, and I was stumbling, attempting to run in footwear that just didn't fit. I needed to stop looking at it as the role I had to play, to instead get something that I would actually fit into. To stop trying to shape myself into Naruto's mould and make my own. I needed to break the expectations I had thrown upon myself, I needed to stop looking at this as 'how Naruto would do it' and rather how I was going to deal with the problem.

I should have told Kakashi about Orochimaru, I should have put my trust in the older, more experienced ninja. I wouldn't make that mistake again.

Sitting up, I looked at the giant fox before me, getting to myself in another effortless movement now that my energy had returned to my limbs. Approaching the cage, I felt a steely determination building up behind my eyes, locking back the tears that'd been threatening to escape a few minutes ago. I didn't have Naruto's strong disposition, I didn't have his ability to ignore every jab at my emotions that approached me, that attacked me.

But maybe I didn't need to. Maybe I should stop hollering up everything inside my chest and just go with what my gut told me to do.

"Thank you," I held out my hand before the Kyūbi, looking up at the bright red eyes that stared down at me, carefully guarded, "ready to introduce yourself yet?"

A clawed hand came down at me, but I squared my jaw, ready to face what was sure to be a crushing blow. Instead, two claws landed on either side of me, orange fur only just brushing at the edges of my fingertips. Kyūbi had changed his movement at the very last second to avoid squashing me like a bug.

" **Impress me brat, and I'll consider it.** "

Unable to quite help the smile that crossed my lips, I turned around, looking for the exit when suddenly, I was pulled under the water, submerged in the murky depths that hadn't been more than an ankles length last I checked.

 

I woke up spluttering, sure that there was in fact a great deal of water logged inside of my chest when all that it house was air. Drowning was the last way I wanted to die if it felt anything like this.

Groggily, I allowed my eyelids to part, and then narrow again when the sight before me registered.

"Neji?" I was pretty sure that those pupiless eyes belonged to him, I hadn't really spoken one on one with Hinata yet, not enough for her to be the first face to grace my vision when I wake up. The wetness in my chest got too overpowering to ignore and I rolled over, stomach clenching spasmodically as it tried to upchuck water that wasn't there. I was never leaving my mindscape via brain juice drain again.

"Naruto, are you okay?"

Blinking, I turned to a side to get a better look at Neji, before my attention was drawn to the duo behind me.

Pushing the older Genin out the way, I threw myself at Sasuke and Kiba, catching both of them in an arm each and burying by face between their shoulders.

"You're okay." I refused to believe that the wet and wobbly voice was mine, but it still expressed my feelings quite nicely as I clutched the two boys as tightly as my shaking muscles allowed.

Instantly two pairs of arms came around my ribs, pressing me close. I angled my head so I could hear both of their heart beats, Sasuke's just a little faster than Kiba's, but both beating faster than their usual resting pace. They'd been fighting. I could smell the hormones that usually ran through their bodies when they were in fight or flight. The scent of sweat was strong, Kiba smelt of blood too.

But they were both okay, they were both alive and breathing and still here.

"As nice as this is, there's something wrong with your seal Naruto."

Inhaling as deeply as I dared, memorising Kiba and Sasuke's current scent and the sound of the blood rushing through their veins, I forcibly released my teammates and summoned up a shadow clone. It required an irritating amount of chakra, far more than what it should have done, and my control was shot to hell.

Had this been the original Naruto, he wouldn't have known what to look for. But I did.

My clone popped, relaying all the information it'd seen, back to my mind instantly. The counterbalance of the Eight Trigrams Seal had been upset by the Five Point Seal over placed the top. Two finished seals placed over one another, one being an even and one being an odd, well, there were several ways that I could fix it, but that required time and a safe place, something I didn't have right now. I could remove the Five Point Seal, but there was no telling how long I'd be unconscious for, best to wait until after the preliminaries for that.

So, it'd have to be the temporary job then.

Allowing chakra to light up three of my fingers, I flicked the left side of my jacket out of the way, slamming the digits down onto my skin and twisting. Heat burned through my stomach but I pushed the pain aside, much more focused on making sure the Third Tier seal I was introducing would upset the Second and thus, not set off the First. Because releasing the Kyūbi was the last thing I wanted.

Pulling my hand away, I grimaced at the mess the seal was now, no longer the gorgeous fluid design it'd once been. But my chakra was circulating again, the Three Point Seal effectively locking up the effects of the Five Point Seal. It wasn't a long term solution, because the Three Point was not designed to seal up a seal like the Five Point, but I wanted to keep the secondary number at eight, so that it wouldn't interfere as much with the original seal.

Not quite satisfied, I was reluctant to accept the makeshift patch job but it'd have to do for now.

Fully sorted, I looked back up at the tree males standing closest to me, noting the absolute horror on their faces.

"Please, I know what I'm doing with Fūinjutsu, no need to worry." I didn't think pointing out that I'd never have been able to do what I'd just done a year ago would help them come to terms with the fact I'd been tampering, in a way, with the seal holding the Kyūbi back.

Both Tenten and Lee looked confused, but as long as they didn't know for now, all would be well.

"Can you fill me in on what I've missed out please?"

 

Apparently, when we were forcibly separated by Orochimaru, he'd gone on to test Sasuke, the end result being the sight I'd arrived in time to witness. Since then, I'd been unconscious, Kiba and Akamaru had managed to get both myself and Sasuke to a safe, easily defendable location. Then, he'd been attacked by the Sound Genin. He'd managed to take down the girl on his own, and then the two boys had attacked him together. Lee had come and intervened, and they'd been at a stalemate until Sasuke woke up. Woke up brimming with power.

When they finished the story, I turned to look at the Uchiha, and I didn't even need to ask before he was stripping off his shirt, allowing me to get a good look at the seal that was now sat on his neck.

Pulling out a pair of specialist Fūinjutsu gloves from my pocket, I snapped them on around my fingers. They were only given to ninja that specialized in Fūinjutsu, because they were too blooming expensive to waste on people who didn't take the whole thing seriously. The reason they were so pricey was because they didn't conduct chakra. At all. Chakra didn't stick to the gloves, the chakra brimming beneath my fingertips couldn't escape. Which made them perfect for analysing unknown, potentially violent seals.

Placing both arms on Sasuke's neck, I began running my fingers up and down the muscles where his shoulder joined his neck, looking for any oddities other than the seal. The muscle didn't feel swollen as far as I could tell, but that wasn't really my area of expertise. More importantly, the skin wasn't dried, or cracked in anyway. Say what you want about Orochimaru's seal, but at least it was professional quality.

"Don't dare channel any chakra," I said after a few moments of looking the seal over. I didn't dare unpack it, so to speak, out here in the open. I needed a nice clean room if I was going to do that. There were far too many variables out here. We needed to be at the tower, now.

"This is a cursed seal, and cursed seals are never good as a rule. Considering who gave you this, it's probably one of the worst one's out there. I won't be able to unpack it and start making a counter measure until we get to the tower though." Pausing at the thought, I frowned and tapped at the storage seal on Sasuke's chest. "Still got them?"

"Yeah, we said we'd lost it already when the snake freak asked," Kiba grumbled, looking quite pleased with himself, while Neji's eyes darted from the seal on Sasuke's chest to my other teammate then sending me an approving look. Clearly he liked the whole misdirection thing we had going on.

"Why? It gives me power, is it not a boost like," Sasuke paused, eyes darting to my still bare stomach before looking back up at me, "is to you?"

Grinding my teeth, I pulled my gloves off, gesturing for Sasuke to get dressed again.

"I don't know what kind of seal this is Sasuke, but the vast majority of curse seals eat away at something every time you use them. Your chakra and your mind are the most common. Tell me, do you want to be going up against that man with this weighing your chakra down, or perhaps you'd like to match your half devoured mind against his prodigious one?"

Sasuke suddenly looked quite sick, face scrunching up and fists clenching.

Ignoring the looks of everyone else, I pulled the taller Genin into a hug, pressing my chin into his shoulder that wasn't covered in a seal and thus, allowing my lips to rest beside Sasuke's ear.

"Every time I use the Kyūbi's chakra it strips away a little bit of my lifespan, it burns like hot oil is running through me instead of chakra. No power is freely given, you're better off working for it. Please trust me." Tightening my hold on the back of the boy's shirt for just a moment, I took a step back at his grunt, instead turning to look at Team Gai. Lee grinned, offering me a thumbs up even if his eyes still glinted with confusion.

"Yosh, your youthful team have collected both of the required scrolls?"

At the boy's question, I stretched my arms above my head, grinning as I nodded.

"In that case, let us travel in a group. Other teams will not like the of two to one odds. It will be safer for all of us!" And as odd as he looked, Kiba and Sasuke couldn't really argue with Lee over that.

 

We made it to the tower by the end of day two. There had been one team from Ame that'd took one look at the six of us and decided they'd rather try their chances elsewhere. We'd opened our scrolls, and Kakashi-sensei had appeared, congratulating us. But I knew from the look in his eyes he was expecting me to report the second I could get away.

Unwrapping the bandages that curled around my right forearm, I exposed my own storage seal, releasing the packed bentos that were sat within. I'd packed enough to last the three of us for seven days instead of the five I knew the test would take, but since we'd finished early, then I figured we could start eating them now and rummage through the tower later.

Summoning up a trio of shadow clones, I sent them off to hunt out a clean room, letting my shoulder droop as I clutched at the bentos in my hands. We'd made it through the second test, but it wasn't relief I was feeling. More like trepidation. I was scared, scared of what was going to happen. Sasuke, Kiba and I were close, closer than what the original team seven had been. Shisui was alive. But would it be enough for the Uchiha to avoid leaving for Orochimaru? I didn't know. I hoped so.

"Food?" Kiba's optimistic moan pulled me out of my thoughts and I spun on the balls of my feet, twisting to face the rest of my team, along with Neji and co.

"I've got bentos, if you want to share?" As if to prove my point, I wiggled the stack of six bentos about in my hand, jolting slightly when Tenten let out a moan of appreciation, all but pouncing me in order to rip one free of my grasp.

"Your cooking is sooo good Naru-chan."

"Yeah! And she's our teammate, not yours!" Kiba stuck his tongue out at the older girl and I laughed, handing out the bentos to the rest of our little group as we continued forwards, walking into the main room. Sasuke lingered at the back and I allowed the squabbling Tenten and Kiba to pass me by, followed by Neji who was showing Lee polite interest for his latest rant.

"What's up Sasuke?"

He was quiet for a moment, filling the silence with the sound of the bento lid being popped off and exposing the contents.

"Will you be looking at it soon?" The seal. Exhaling, I picked at my own bento, keeping track of all the other Genin who'd come back to the main room to see who else had made it through.

"I've got some clones cleaning up a room. I'll have Kakashi-sensei on standby, but I think I'll be able to manage a temporary measure until after the next pat of the exam."

The Uchiha nodded, eyes darting up to take in all the other Genin around us and then grimacing when Haruno Sakura came scampering towards him. This girl hadn't had a Wave mission to kick her into high gear yet. She hadn't had to face down Sound nin with no backup. Part of me felt like I'd deprived her of what she was suppose to become, deprived her of her development. But then I'd remember that had she been on team seven, Kiba would not have been. And such a thought was unacceptable.

"Please don't touch Sasuke, Haruno-san," I managed to grab her extended arms and veer her off course, expertly ignoring the angry look she sent me. All of the villager had sent me far worse. "Sasuke has been cursed with a seal of unknown origins and no one is suppose to touch him until it can be better assessed."

"Ano, Na-Naruto-san... Ka-Kabuto-kun said th-that you were a-a Fūinjutsu sp-specialist?"

Looking up at Hinata, who looked so timid in that huge jacket, with her big doe like eyes and short dark hair, I couldn't help but smile.

"I am indeed. I have some clones prepping a room ready for examination and possible methods of containment, so don't be surprised when we disappear. I'll leave a note on the door we use, but do try not to enter it. One wrong stroke and I might end up blowing up the building if I get distracted."

Sakura was pale, staring horrified at Sasuke, who was just hunched over his lunch and was finishing it with an increasingly rapid rate. After a moment's thought, I pushed my own towards him, no longer hungry. My normally huge appetite was non-existent. Sasuke already knew the drill that when I was offering food it meant I didn't want it, so he didn't bother to make sure I was certain, instead accepting the half full bento and devouring the rest of it.

"Are you sure you should doing something so dangerous?!" Sakura cried, her bright green eyes wide with horror. They were an astonishingly pretty colour, glittering in the light and- was that a sheen of tears? Nope, not my area of expertise.

"Right now, no one is suppose to give us any medical aid, it's up to us to survive to the next stage Haruno-san. Out of everybody in this tower, it is not presumptuous to assume I am the most skilled with seals."

"But-"

"Just shut up Sakura," Sasuke grumbled, stacking the second empty bento box on top of his first one, turned his dark eyes on me, "Naruto's dealt with a seal far more dangerous than this one today. I trust her to not mess this up." That was that apparently.

 

Unpacking the Curse Seal of Heaven was tricky business. While according to the rules Kakashi wasn't allowed to interfere without getting us disqualified, that didn't meant he couldn't sit in the room and make sure he'd be there to stop any giant blunder  I could make. The kind with far reaching consequences. Such as blowing up the tower. Not that I was at such an amateur stage anymore.

Kiba was sat outside the room, guarding the door to make sure no one else would try to interrupt. I trusted him, the Inuzuka knew what a delicate process this was, he knew that even the slightest distraction could cost me. Considering the last time he'd drawn my attention a half made storage seal had started melting the paper it was wrote on, he'd long since learnt not to interrupt me with when I was in Fūinjutsu mode.

"Okay, so we've got a fourth tier interlocking matrix over here," I murmured, gesturing to the specific location for Kakashi's benefit, who's eye was narrowed and for once, paying complete intention. "I'm going to interweave a temporary chakra feeder, which should last a week at most. But after that, it'll close up around there and I won't be able to do this again, so you'll have to get it sealed. You can do that later, right sensei?"

Looking at the silver haired man from the corner of my eyes, I clocked him nodding, so I turned my attention back to Sasuke, folding the seal back up and picking up my paintbrush in glove covered fingers.

"Okay Sasuke, what I'm going to do is put a chakra storage seal on your shoulder here," tapping at the body part in question, I traced the chakra pathway -which I'd gotten Neji to draw on Sasuke's body with a special, unreactive ink earlier- until I reached the cursed seal on his opposite shoulder. "I'm going to pour a hell of a lot of chakra into it and link it up so that the seal eats away at that instead of your chakra. Mind you, this is only a temporary fix for a week, and either me or Kakashi-sensei will be sealing this up. Otherwise it's going to eat away or your mind and corrupt your thoughts. Which we want to avoid, yes?"

Sasuke nodded, fists clenching as I began to paint syntaxes across his bare back.

"It's going to hurt, but not as much as the curse seal will in the long run. There's not much chance of you passing out, but if you feel the need to, do not fight it. Understand?"

"Yes. Just get on with it."

This was awful. I shouldn't have to be putting this kind of seal on Sasuke, feeding the curse seal with my own chakra. I should be able to get it off, or at the very least, seal it up for him completely. But I had no idea how long he'd be unconscious if I did that, and right now, that was something we couldn't risk.

And so, I got to work.

 

* * *

 

 

His little Kaichō-chan was incredible. The sealing had taken more out of her than either of them had thought it would, and Naruto had passed out only a few seconds after Sasuke. He'd carried them outside, following Kiba to their temporary sleeping space and dropping the two on the bed, leaving to report to the Hokage. She was very skilled with Fūinjutsu, Kakashi knew he certainly wouldn't have been able to find a temporary measure for holding the Cursed Seal of Heaven back in such a short time.

Now he was stood before the leader of his village, who looked as proud as he felt.

"Naruto-chan sure has come a long way."

"Yes she has Hokage-sama."

"So, Sasuke'll be okay?" Uchiha Shisui had perked up from where he'd been stood beside the Hokage, the dango stick he'd long since finished and moved on to gnawing at now held between his fingers. The little wooden stick had been mauled worse than what his ninken would have managed with a bone.

"We'll have to seal it correctly after the preliminaries, but other than that, yes."

The older Uchiha let out a relieved breath, eyes warm as they scanned the Hokage's crystal ball, which showed a dozing Naruto.

"I can honestly say I wasn't expecting the brat to be so exceptional."

"Naruto did manage to keep a very levelled head considering what happened. Kakashi, has she had any relapses regarding her previous trauma?"

The silver haired man shook his head, pleased to be able to do so. It'd been some of the most painful weeks of his life, having to train Naruto to not flinch away at the sight of a blade, to be able to run her thumb across the sharp edges again. To be able to dig a kunai into her palm in order to break a genjutsu. It'd been a horrific couple of weeks, and it was not something that Kakashi wanted to relive.

Luckily, it appeared he wouldn't have to.

"Then as long as she passes the preliminaries, I think we can safely say Naruto is set for promotion."

Both Kakashi and Shisui nodded, taking the leave where it was given and exiting the room.

They walked down the corridor of the tower, Kakashi pulling out his favourite book with its worn cover and dog-eared pages, Shisui seemingly deciding he hadn't yet mangled the dango stick enough.

"Can I see them?" Shisui asked after a moment of silence, the eighteen year old looking up at his with huge, pleading black eyes that no ninja should ever be allowed to employ. Ever. Naruto had something similar, but her brilliant blue eyes were infinitely worse, especially when she angled her head just right and caught the light in her unshed tears.

"I suppose you can't really be considered an examiner or trainer." The fact that Shisui was a family member went unsaid.

If it had been Naruto that had been the target, Naruto who'd been 'gifted' that awful seal, not even all of Iwa and Kumo's combined power would have been able to hold Kakashi back from reaching her side.

Leading the younger Sharingan user down the twisting corridors, Kakashi stretched out his senses, reassuring himself that Naruto and the rest of team were still in the room.

Pushing open the door, Kakashi paused at the sight before him, a smile breaking out under his mask. They really were like little puppies.

All three of his Genin were sleeping within one of the chambers of the tower, but most importantly, they were sprawled out not around each other, but instead on top of one another.

Kiba was sleeping at the bottom of the pile, leg occasionally twitched as he dreamed, one hand grasping Naruto's slim ankle. The girl herself had spread out starfish style, attempting to take up as much room as possible on the single king-sized mattress Kakashi had dropped her on.

While Kiba had hold of one ankle, the other leg was thrown across the boy's torso, toes digging into his ribs. Naruto was laid face down, having, at some point, snatched up one of Sasuke's arms and began using it as a pillow, lips occasionally parting to let out an almighty snore, something which Naruto only did in her sleep when she was completely comfortable with the company around her.

As if that weren't bad enough, Sasuke seemed to have decided he preferred being at the top of the pile, laid on one side with his legs over Kiba's and his head nestled quite neatly between Naruto's shoulder blades. A trail of drool had escaped the corner of his mouth and was now pooling on the thick material of Naruto's jacket, not that the girl would notice until she woke up.

All in all, it was an exceedingly cute scene to stumble upon, and Kakashi had to hold up his hand to prevent the other Jonin from making a noise and rousing the trio. At least, until he got a photo of the sight before his eyes. This was blackmail material just begging to be stored away for future reference.

Shisui, upon realizing what he was doing, beamed, eyes flashing Sharingan red so he'd never forget the scene before him.

"I want a copy," he whispered to Kakashi, the Copy-Nin nodding along.

"Only if I'm there when you show Sasuke."

"Done."

 

* * *

 

 

When I woke up, it was to a tight grip on my ankle, another arm that couldn't possibly belong to the same person wrapped around my waist. The fact that I hadn't registered the holds as threats was enough for me to know I was safe, it had to be someone I knew and hung out with often.

It only took a few seconds for everything to catch up with me and decide that, yes, this was quite the comfortable and acceptable position.

It wasn't until I heard the muffled snickering that I realized that, like it or not, I was going to have to get up.

Cracking open one sleep caked eye, I scanned the room, noting the two bodies that were woven between my own, before my gaze landed on Kakashi and everyone with him.

Shisui was there, grinning from ear to ear, Sarutobi Asuma stood beside him, along with the rest of Team Ten. Shikamaru, Chōji and Ino. And all three were gawking at us.

Rolling my jaw around, I looked over my shoulder to find out it was Sasuke's head and oversized ego pinning my chest to the bed, and that it was Kiba currently snuggling with my left calf.

Grumbling, I wiggled my elbow out of from under Sasuke, digging it into the dark haired boy's side while trying to free my foot. However, Kiba wasn't having it, though Sasuke woke up with a surprised snort, blurry eyes blinking in a rapid motion.

"Get this mutt of me," I chuntered, scowling harder when Sasuke let out a low chuckle but nevertheless gave Kiba a swift kick to the rump, sending both him and Akamaru off of the bed.

Ignoring our audience, I stretched my arms up above my head, twisting my spine back and forth and listening to the satisfying pops.

"How's the seal Sasuke?"

The Uchiha frowned, absentmindedly clamping a hand down over the offending chakra construct before a yawn tore through his throat.

"Good, don't feel a thing. Thank you."

"Wait a second! Why were you all sleeping together like that?!" Ino came striding in, a glare on her face and arms folded in a stern intimidation of an angry Shisui. I meant to answer, meant to explain that we found comfort in being so close to each other after being attacked.

Unfortunately, my mouth had other ideas, and instead out came, "why is there a wet patch on my back?"

 

The remaining days passed quietly. The three of us mostly stuck to the room that Sasuke and I had woken up in after the sealing. I'd inspected the thing every day, both morning and night, but my temporary solution seemed to be holding out fine. We had enough food stored in the seals on my arms to not have to leave for anything, so we didn't.

It might be a form of trauma, it might be just me that felt this way, but I needed to reassure myself that both my teammates were fine. We'd encountered an enemy so very far out of our league, we'd been lucky to escape with our lives. If he'd wanted us dead, we would be. End of story.

I'd panicked, lost myself to a Kyūbi induced rage instead of thinking things through as I should have done. I'd have had more chance, but I'd just seen Kiba so beaten up, heard Sasuke's throat tearing scream and that'd been it. I was lost, a slave to my emotions. It was something I needed to work on. Fight smart. I needed to fight smart. There was no other choice for ninja, and I needed to remember that.

"So, this is where you've been hiding."

Walking through the door after Kiba, I tilted my head to the side Neji was currently on. The dark haired Genin was leaning against the wall, one arm crossed over his chest and other chewing at a rations bar. Probably from his own pack. Ah, we may have been hording my food in our room, but really, we'd come to an agreement as a team it was best if everyone else was running on tower supplied ration bars instead of the real food I'd brought with me. Heartless maybe, but they'd just have to get over it.

"Yeah, burrowed under the covers masterminded our plan to take first place," I replied, stuffing one hand into my pocket while the other reached out to tug at Neji's ponytail. He blinked in confusion at the action for a second, understandable since I'd not really dared to become too familiar with him. But Neji was my friend, one of my closest, if not the closest. Only Kakashi was closer, and that was because he was my mentor, practically my older brother. It was perhaps time I started showing that.

"Come on Hyūga boy, let's go see why we're gathering."

I gave another teasing pull, watching as Neji's eyes narrowed for a second but nevertheless fell in step with me, Sasuke flanking my other side.

"Have you managed to reach a solution regarding your seals?" The dark haired boy asked, gaze flickering between us, clearly an open ended question.

"I've got one for mine, and I think Kakashi knows of one that can help Sasuke, so yes, we're good."

It pained me not to ask if he would like to attempt removing his, tweaking it so that it could never hurt him. But I did not need the full weight of the Hyūga clan coming down on me, not when they could just as easily reapply the seal to Neji.

From the tightness of his eyes, the older Genin recognised the situation for what it was, but not once did he put me in the position by asking either.

Reaching out and taking hold of the boy's hand as we walked through the doors to the main room, I gave it a light squeeze before letting go, hoping that the contact could say what my mouth could not.

 

We stood in lines, listening to our Hokage speak. I was in front, the shortest of our collective group, Kiba behind me and Sasuke bringing up the rear. Neji was to my right, Sakura to my left. Five teams from Konoha, one from Leaf, and one from Sound. Good numbers for the Leaf village at least.

There was outrage as it was announced there would be preliminary matches, most noticeably from Shikamaru and Sakura. Not that I cared really.

I would have to win. I needed to be in that final.

The electric scoreboard that would show the matches was revealed from a heavy wooden slot and I let my gaze lock on the screen. This was it. From here on out, I wouldn't have Sasuke and Kiba's support, just like they wouldn't have mine. The temporary chakra seal I'd placed on my teammate should be enough to hold the curse seal off from another three or four days, but there was a high chance it'd get excited whenever Sasuke started using his own chakra, and thus start burning through the supply I'd set up for it to eat through much quicker than I'd have liked.

Regardless, I could do no more now, I'd done as much as I could, which was far more than had happened in the manga. And Sasuke had still managed to win his fight in the manga while struggling with an unbound seal. So he should be okay.

Behind me, Kiba sucked in a sharp breath and I looked up, catching sight of my name on the scoreboard.

Right above Gaara's.

 

My mind stuttered to a halt.

Gaara? He, he'd been the last person I'd been expecting to fight in all honesty. I'd been sure that the actual match-ups were rigged by somebody, so that the most promising and politically heavy children would have been thrown into the actual third test. To bring in the most money to the village. But apparently it really was random.

I doubt the Third would have matched me up with the Fourth Kazekage's kid otherwise. Gaara still had his reputation of being untouchable right now. And damn was he unstable.

"Naruto?" Kiba asked, placing a hand on my shoulder and voice tinged with worry.

Whatever reply I could have given was drowned out by our examiner, Hayate Gekkō, calling for the two of us to come forwards. I barely heard Kankurō grumble that I had reached the end of the line and was about to get what was coming to me.

In fact, I ignored everyone but the Hokage completely, kneeling before the man and sucking in a breath between my two front teeth.

"Hokage-sama, it may be unavoidable that I use that power. Permission to break S-rank secret if required?"

Beside the Hokage, Asuma was the only one close enough to hear my words, and he actually inhaled his cigarette, coughing and spluttering away as he tried to recover from the sudden obstruction to his wind pipe. The Third had to know what Gaara was, had to know that he was far too unstable for me to get out of this thing unscratched. That I might have to draw upon that power. I could see it in his eyes, before he finally gave a low nod of his head, sighing and puffing at the pipe between his lips.

"Granted, Genin Uzumaki Naruto."

Swallowing, I stood his straight, turning my attention back to Gaara, who was watching me with sharp eyes. Hayate shifted from foot to foot, an uncomfortable look on his face as his eyes danced between us. He knew what we were too, he knew just how explosive this first match could get.

"Are the first two participants, Leaf Genin Uzumaki Naruto, and Suna Genin Gaara of the Desert, ready to fight?"

"Yes," Gaara responded tonelessly, but I paused, sucking in a deep breath before pulling off my jacket. With the seal now balanced again, it was no longer visible unless I channelled chakra in such a way that I wanted it to be visible. Undoing the bandages that covered both my upper arms and forearms, I threw the whole lot up to Kiba, who caught them with a raised eyebrow.

"Kakashi-sensei, this'll get dangerous," I murmured, gaze still focused on Gaara, who's eyes were trailing over the multitude of seal of my arms with interest flashing in his eyes, "please prevent any damage from spilling over on everyone."

"Hai Kaichō-chan."

Somewhere up on the balcony, Temari snorted at the nickname.

"Then I am ready Hayate-sempai."

"Right then, first match, begin."

I shot to the left, rocketing past the Hokage, who was the only one to not move out of my way. Flipping up onto the stone hands that served as the only decoration in the room, I pressed a chakra powered finger down on a seal situated on my inner upper arm. Instantly, a flood of water exploded outwards, following the chakra I was channelling down my arm and absolutely drenching the entire floor. We were ankle deep in water by the time the seal spluttered to a stop, Gaara looking significantly unimpressed.

While my secondary affinity was water, I still wasn't quite at the stage where I could summon it from the air. Which was why I'd stored a hell of a lot of water in a seal on my arm. Now, I didn't have to worry about a water source, I could carry it around with me.

"You think water'll stop Gaara's sand?"

I ignored Kankurō's taunt, instead allowing Kiba's bellow calling for my victory to fill me with courage, to set my stomach aflame.

Releasing my weight seals with another tap of a finger, I shot forwards, hearing several of the Genin up in the stands gasp in shock. I twisted, slamming my foot into a wall of sand and pulled it back quickly. The chakra glide that Neji and I invented was incredibly useful, as I shot around on the water it appeared as if the liquid was aiding me, instead of my movements just creating a wake.

Pulling out a handful of shuriken, I threw them at the sand, appearing on the opposite side of Gaara and going for another punch. But it failed, slamming into a secondary wall of sand forcing me to jump back as it came chasing after me.

At that exact moment, the shuriken released the transformation technique, the shadow clones I'd henged into weapons before leaving our room today reappearing. And one managed to land a solid kick to Gaara's chest, throwing him back.

Sand armour cracked, and Gaara's face lit up. He was losing control. He'd been pretty much emotionless when we met before the first test, and with how unstable he appeared, I'd expect it. That didn't mean that the sight of that creepy smile didn't send a terrified shiver down my spine. But if I lost here, then it'd probably be Sasuke facing him. Because that was how my luck worked.

"Hurry up, and come." Gaara demanded and I clenched my fists.

I would not let Sasuke face him. If anyone had a chance at beating him, it was me.

Pulling two seals from my trouser pockets, I threw them onto the water, leaking out enough chakra to activate them. Instantly two geysers of water shot into the air, swirling around as I ran through handseals.

"Water Release; Water Fang Bullet!" Several drills of spinning, highly compacted water shot forwards from all angles to attack Gaara at the same time I finished my second set of handseals.

"Water Release; Water Colliding Wave!"

I knew the moment it hit, knew the moment that Gaara had gotten hit by a drill and not the wave I'd summoned. I could smell the blood, even as it was absorbed into the water.

"W-What is this?! Mother?! Blood... My blood?!" The cry echoed through the room and I cringed, wiping the droplets of water from my eyes just in time to see a dense mass of sand shooting at me.

I was too slow to move and it grasped my torso, gripping far too tight around my rib cage. I was pinned to the wall above the decorative hands, Sasuke and Kiba's cries of denial thrumming through my ears. My chest was heaving, but I didn't have the room to breathe, couldn't suck in the air I was so desperately in need of.

"Show me Uzumaki! Let me prove my existence!"

He's gonna kill me!

' _Kurama, please! Please let me prove a Jinchuriki that works with their Bijū is greater! Please!_ ' It was a desperate plea, I can't lie. But my vision was darkening as the sand was tightening, ready to pop my body like a grape.

And then, there was a furious rush of power.

' **Don't dare lose brat. Not to him.** '

 

* * *

 

 

Sasuke knew right away the second that Naruto called upon the power hidden beneath her skin, sealed away in the design on his stomach. He might have been half mad with the pain of the curse seal, might have been injured and sure he was going to die, but he would never forget that oppressive, acidic chakra. The air was suddenly thousands of times heavier, pressing down on their shoulders and coaxing sweat from their skin.

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke watched the vast majority of the rookies vomit under the pressure, only Kiba and himself managed to avoid such a fate, and even then it was a close call, only occurring because they'd been exposed to it before.

Beside him, the Suna Genin that'd come to brag about Naruto's unavoidable defeat, had gone still.

"Wh-what is tha-at?!" The Suna girl whimpered, eyes wide with fright and knuckles white.

"That would be Naruto-chan's trump card," Kakashi answered, seemingly unaffected. Sasuke knew differently, the hand on his collarbone that'd stopped him from dashing into battle to rescue Naruto was clenching into the tender flesh of his shoulder. Kakashi was worried.

"Your teammate might have one tail Genin-chan, but Naruto, she has Nine."

As if it'd been waiting for Kakashi's words, red chakra exploded out from Naruto's body, propelling the sand away and surrounding her form. It danced around her, nine wide columns of burning power, twisting about until it formed the menacing visage of a fox above the blonde's head. Naruto had dropped to the floor now, curled on all fours with her head in her hands and even the Hokage had retreated to a safe distance.

Every Jonin in the room was tense, but Sasuke could not rip his eyes from his teammate. He saw what she'd meant now, back when Naruto had told him using the fox's chakra cost her so much. Parts of her skin were starting to flake away as she fought for control, the nine tails of chakra slowly clumping together until it was only four, waving about behind her.

" **No,** " Naruto's voice was suddenly so much deeper, so much more menacing than normal that it raised every hair on Sasuke's skin, from the back of his neck to his forearms, " **too much. Only need one.** "

Through what appeared to be nothing more that sheer will-power, Naruto pushed all the red chakra back, until only a single tail flickered about behind her. Then, she looked up. Sasuke's breath caught.

Her eyes were red, redder than the Sharingan, redder than the chakra that coated her form, redder than the blood she'd made the Suna Genin bleed. Silted pupils and the whisker like scars were suddenly so much more noticeable. Right there, nothing had scared Sasuke more than the appearance of his teammate. The teammate he'd entrusted his life too so many times already. And he wasn't even the focus of all her killer intent.

"Y-You mean, s-she's a-"

"Naruto is the Jinchuriki of the Kyūbi no Kitsune. And she is my teammate," Kiba snarled beside him, the two Suna Genin flinching back.

"Yes!" Gaara, Naruto's opponent, looked manic, bloodthirstiness written across his every feature. "You are just like me! Prove to me your existence!"

"I'm nothing like you!" Naruto snarled, clawed hands coming together and a glowing ball of chakra twirling around in her hand. The tail of chakra wrapped protectively around the limbs, seemingly aiding the formation of whatever attack was making that swirling noise.

"I fight for my comrades, I prove my existence by protecting the bonds I have with them. And for that, I will take you down!" Naruto shot forwards, a roar tearing through her throat as Gaara's sand attempted to slow her approach, to attack and disable her. But Naruto pushed through it, the chakra in her hand whirling until it met with Gaara's stomach, ripping away the sand armour and tearing at the tender flesh underneath.

Behind him, Sasuke felt Kakashi's wince as if it were his own. Or perhaps because he had felt the same thing, had flinched as the attack landed.

 

From there, it descended into a slugging match, Naruto's burning chakra against the crushing sand. Chakra coated fists were meeting faces, limbs of sand and demonic energy grappling with one another, throwing the opponent around the room. There were more craters than Sasuke cared to count, and more than one Jonin had been forced to snatch up their students and retreat to a safer location as one Jinchuriki's attack or the other's landed where they'd been not a second ago.

After what seemed like a painfully long wait, but could not have lasted more than a minute, Naruto finally got the hold she was looking for, slamming Gaara into the ground with far more force than anything Sasuke had ever seen her use before.

To think, she'd been holding back this much when they'd been sparring. This kind of power-

But her limbs were shaking, her muscles protesting every movement, and if the redhead's panic filled eyes was any indication, was any evidence, then he was in the same boat, if not more so. All of that looked like it had been very chakra intensive, very costly.

It seemed this fight was coming to an end.

 

* * *

 

 

"No! Get away from me! I will not disappear!"

Unable to stop my heart from clenching painfully, I forcibly dragged myself towards Gaara, who had managed to force himself into a sitting position and was trying to retreat in a crab like style. He'd tried to fall asleep, to call out Shukaku, but I'd been prepared for this. A seal that forcibly kept someone conscious was usually only used during torture and interrogation. But right now, it was my greatest asset.

It stopped Gaara from calling out Shukaku, which I knew was the only way I could win this.

I pushed myself that little bit further, forcing my feet to hold my weight as I stood over Gaara. Kyūbi's chakra had disappeared from my form now, I could feel my patch job of a Three Point Seal threatening to crumble if I dared to pull anymore chakra from it. But Gaara was as out of chakra as I.

"My existence will never be extinguished!"

Ignoring everything in my that said it was a bad idea, ignoring the voice that sounded suspiciously like Sasuke and Kiba and Shisui and Kakashi all rolled into one, I dropped to my knees besides Gaara and threw my arms around him. I could feel him freeze in shock, body stiffening further than what should be humanly possible. No one should react to a hug like this. No one should feel like a demon. Gaara was human. Gaara was-

"just like me." I pressed my face into Gaara's neck, one hand wrapped in his red hair and the other pressing into his back, keeping him close to me. I held tightly, not willing to let the boy get away.

"You're just like me. But I had Kakashi-sensei. And then Shisui-sempai came and Neji and Sasuke and Kiba. And I wasn't alone. I might have been a monster to everyone else, they might still see me as a demon. But my precious people, they love me for me. The care despite the seal on my skin. And for them, I'll do anything."

Releasing my hold on Gaara, I instead gripped at his shoulders, resting my forehead against his and letting the boy see the tears that were welling in my eyes, creating tracks down my cheeks.

"Because with them, I'm not alone." Closing my eyes, I pressed my forehead a little harder against Gaara's, as if it'll allow my thoughts to transfer to him through osmosis. "And you don't have to be either."

There was a moment of silence, and I didn't care what everyone else was thinking, what was racing through their minds. Because right now, the most important thing was getting through to Gaara. I'd been given an early opportunity to do so, and I wasn't going to waste it. He had to get the message. He just had to.

"Love?"

The word was barely a whisper, but I pulled my head back far enough to get a good look at Gaara, who's dark rimmed eyes were wide, lips trembling with an emotion that wasn't anything to do with bloodlust.

"Yes. For the people I love, I'll do anything. And I like to think they'd do the same thing for me. You've just got to find the right people." Letting go of my fellow Jinchuriki, I winced slightly as he dropped onto the floor, eyes sliding shut and looking exhausted.

There was a momentary pause as Hayate reappeared, glancing around the room, eyes lingering on the rampant destruction that'd been wrought on the place.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto of the Leaf."

There was another moment of silence, before Kiba burst in ferocious cheers, followed a second after by Lee and Tenten.

I twisted to get a look at them, but my legs gave out. An arm wrapped around my waist, the other throwing my own limb over a set of shoulders and I looked up to meet Sasuke's gaze.

"A bit cheesy, but a victory all the same I guess," he grumbled, tightening his hold before jumping back up onto one of the two remaining faces of the balcony.

I collapsed in a heap beside Kakashi the second Sasuke let go, but Kiba was right there, arms thrown around me in a hug and babbling a mile a minute as he did so. There was another set of arms afterwards, longer and stronger than that of my teammate, but not covered in the usual Jonin jumper.

"Shisui-sempai?"

I don't think I remembered him standing with the rest of the Jonin at the start, but clearly he'd snuck into the tower at some point to witness al that had happened.

"You were great kiddo."

"Yes, congratulations Naruto."

Glancing up at Neji's voice, I wiggled an arm free, ignoring the exhaustion that was attempting to pull my limbs down as I did so.

"You'll have to come down here Neji, I can't managed standing."

Neji looked like he was about to protest, but Kakashi took great delight in pushing the boy down within my arm's reach, and the next thing the Hyūga knew he was included in the Uzumaki-Uchiha-Inuzuka sandwich. Sasuke and Kakashi both stood above us, the former looking exasperated while the latter was smiling like a proud papa or something. Or, that's what I figured the expression under his mask was.

"Err, Kakashi-sensei?" I asked, swaying slightly amongst the bodies that surrounded me. "Maybe I should visit the medics?"

 

I woke back up roughly half an hour later, laid out in the medical bay and staring up at the ceiling. The itch around several different body parts alerted me to the fact I was already wrapped up in bandages, and not the comfortable kind.

Breathing steady, I forced myself to sit up, taking a look around. It seemed a few more matches had happened since I'd last been awake, because I wasn't the only occupant. Off to a side, one of Kabuto's teammates was unconscious, and beside him was Chōji. Across from me was Kiba, and I frowned upon catching his eye. What did I say, what could I say when I'd gotten through and not him. Was there a way to talk to the boy without hurting his feelings?

"It's okay Ruto," Kiba grumbled, running a hand through his messy brown hair, "but next time, make sure you let me know who's who. Because that bushy eyebrow guy is way too strong."

Ah, so Kiba had gotten Lee then. That was a poor match up indeed, considering a lot of Kiba's ninjutsu revolved around taijutsu. And Lee was an expert on the subject.

"You just got to make sure you beat him, okay?" The Inuzuka hoped off his bed, clearly not as injured as I'd thought, even if he had to limp out of the sick-bay.

Stretching my aching arms above my head, I twisted where I was sat, and the froze in place.

Gaara was sat in the bed next to me. He was propped up by a collection of pillows and was just looking forwards. His eyes looked dead.

Completing another sweep of the medic bay to make sure there was no one else present but the two unconscious, I ran through a small wind jutsu, summoning up the last dregs of my chakra and releasing it away from Gaara. The force of the wind propelled my wheeled bed to side, bumping into Gaara's and jolting the boy from whatever thoughts he'd had.

"Hi." I murmured lowly, for lack of anything else to say.

With wide eyes, Gaara stared back at me for a second before he looked away.

"Hello." It was quiet, but nevertheless, a reply.

Shuffling as close as my delicate buttocks would allow, I forced my legs to move, swinging them up and onto Gaara's bed, the rest of my body following afterward. I kicked my bed away, making myself comfortable besides Gaara's very still form and then sighing. There was about an inch or two of space between us, and I didn't know how violent the boy still was.

In the manga, he'd gone form receiving his Naruto therapy to a Kage. The manga had been called Naruto, and as such, followed Naruto's character development, not Gaara's. I didn't know if he suffered from relapses, if he was currently dangerous at this moment in time. But that didn't matter. He was as beat up as me right now, and if I, who'd won, couldn't summon up any more chakra, then I highly doubt Gaara could either.

"You thought about my words?"

The redhead turned his gaze back to the world, but I could see he was thinking though. That was an improvement at least.

"How. How do you make them love you?" It was such an innocent, such a broken question that my expression surely shattered. I could feel tears pooling at the back of my eyes, but I pushed the feeling back. I'd cried enough today.

Instead, I slowly wrapped my arm around Gaara's shoulders, giving the boy plenty of time to move away.

"You can't make them love you. Trust me, I tried. I was only a week off of seven when I met Kakashi-sensei. And to begin with, that's all he was. But then we started to trust each other, and I started cooking, and then Kakashi was treating me to ice-cream and we were friends. And it grew from there. He's like an older brother to me now. You can't make them love you, you can only try to be their friends. But when they do love you, you love them back just as hard. And sometimes you can lose a person you love, it's one of the things I fear most of all. But isn't it better to have that precious time with them, then to never have them at all?"

I started to remove my hand from Gaara's shoulders, but before I could retract it more than an inch, a head of red hair came to rest upon my shoulder, tresses of crimson brushing against my neck, usually covered by the jacket I'd abandoned an hour or so ago.

Instead of retrieving my limb, I ran it up the length of Gaara's arm once before holding tight to him. I scrambled for something to do, something to say, before the words came to mind.

"Hi, my name's Uzumaki Naruto," I began, feeling Gaara's head shift a bit under my jaw as I put my chin atop his brow, "I like my loved ones, and I don't like people who try to hurt them. I do a lot of cooking and training, and my goal is to keep getting strong so I can protect the people I care about. I have a handful of friends, but I could always use more."

For a second, I didn't think it'd work. I thought that Gaara would ignore me, or worse, summon sand from nowhere and crush my overly friendly self to death.

But instead, one of Gaara's arms wrapped around my middle, the cool, dry skin of his palm sweet relief against my hot, sweaty back.

"My name is Gaara of the Desert. I like salted tongue. I dislike those who attack me. I cultivate cacti. My goal," here there was a hesitant pause, before the redhead continued in a near silent voice, "is to have a friend, and understand why that makes you so strong."

Sat in the bed with Gaara, I tightened my hold on my fellow Jinchuriki, feeling the resolve I'd come to after my defeat by Orochimaru harden. I was not Naruto. I would do things my way. But that didn't mean I couldn't be sentimentally soft when I wanted to be.

"Consider part one of your goal complete Gaara. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I have a friend from Suna called Gaara."

The boy startled, head whipping up to look at me with wide teal eyes.

"As for the second part, we can work on it. You're still in Konoha for the next month, right? Because I can't spend all my days training." Laying my head to rest on the Suna Genin's shoulder, I let my eyes slip closed, surrounded by the dry warmth that was Gaara and the soft thump of his heart beat.

 

Twenty minutes later, I was rudely awakened by a hand shaking me about. Looking up and finding Kakashi's masked face staring down at me, camera in hand, I groaned and reburied my head back into Gaara's shoulders, noting the way the boy's arms tightened around my waist.

"Maa Naruto, I said no more exotic boys, remember?"

"Doesn't mean I have to listen," I grumbled into Gaara's shirt, even though I'm sure it was nothing more than muffled nonsense to Kakashi.

As I'd half expected but hoped otherwise, Kakashi expertly extracted me from my nest, holding me effortlessly under one arm as if I were a rugby ball.

"Ah, my cue little Kaichō-chan, you need to find out who your next opponent is, so you can snuggle up to them. Fingers crossed it's the Hyūga boy huh?" Hmm, Neji had won his match then? A quick scan of the medical bay showed no signs of Hinata. Curious.

Pinching Kakashi's leg at the accusation in his tone, I allowed the man to carry me off, waving goodbye to a confused Gaara as I did so.

 

I was unceremoniously dropped into Sasuke's arms when we arrived back in the main room. It appeared to have taken on a bit more damage, but not as much as I'd been expecting. Lined up alongside of us were the rest of the competitors. Shino and surprisingly enough, Sakura were stood to our left. The girl must have flourished under Kurenai and without the distraction that was Sasuke hanging around.

To our far right was Kankurō and Temari, both of who were sending me absolutely terrified looks. Closer to home was both Lee and Neji, with one of the Sound ninjas and Shikamaru between us.

"Well then," Hayate broke off for a second to finish coughing but returning his attention to us, "now that we're all here, let's draw some numbers."

Anko held out a box before Sakura and I watched her draw a number five. Shino went next, getting seven, and then it was Sasuke's turn, pulling out a three. Suddenly the box was before me and I blinked, but never the less I picked out my number, holding up a nine. Typical.

Neji got one, and Lee got a four. So it was Sasuke against Lee then, that'd be interesting. Shikamaru drew a two and I winced. Poor boy, against Neji. The Sound shinobi drew a six and I grimaced. Sakura was rather unlucky on that front, she'd ended up with the Sound Genin that Gaara was suppose to kill. Only now, I wasn't sure if he'd be doing so. Kankurō drew an eight, which left Temari as my opponent. She didn't look too happy about that.

I tried to stay focused, to listen to the Hokage speak, but my mind kept returning to Gaara. I'd messed up the timeline bad. Would the invasion still happen now?

I didn't know. And that worried me.

 

The next morning, I was stood outside the hotel that the Chũnin candidates from outside Konoha were staying in, my bento in one hand and a bento including salted tongue in the other palm. I'd had to look the recipe up, because I'd shied away from cooking tongue before today, but in the interest of showing I was serious about my friendship with Gaara, here I was.

The medic's had insisted that I take a day's rest after using the Kyūbi's chakra, even if I felt fit and ready to go. Regardless, the Third had insisted I rest for the day, so rest I would. The Hokage had also promised to introduce me to a trainer for the next month tomorrow, and I was pretty certain it was going to be Jiraiya. That the older seal master would be the only one trusted to fix my tampered seal kind of made it obvious.

Kakashi had approached me the previous night, informing me that he was going to be sealing up Sasuke's curse seal, and that we could put our heads together on how to take it off him after the Chũnin exams had passed. And no sooner. Not that it'd stop me from summoning up some clones to think over how to deal with Orochimaru's stupid invention.

Disregarding that, I was supposed to be spending the day off, which is why I was currently in the lobby of the hotel, smiling up at the reception woman who looked a little hesitant, but her eyes kept darting to my clearly homemade bentos and her eyes were softening. I reminded her of someone she liked. Good.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me what room the team from Suna, the one with the redhead, are in?" Gaara was the only Suna Genin present with red hair, so the woman should know who I was talking about. Luckily, her eyes lit up with understanding and she nodded, flicking through her papers before pausing and giving me a curious glance.

"Why are you here, Shinobi-chan?"

"Gaara's my friend, and since he's not in the tournament anymore, I wanted to see if he'd come out for a picnic." I lifted up my bento boxes, giving them a little shake, as if to prove my intentions. The woman took a look at my clothes, a knee length, pastel orange sundress with a pattern of blue flowers dancing across the hem and the neckline, before she smiled.

"First crush aye?"

"Not quite, we're just friends."

The woman snorted, rolling her eyes but there was still a teasing smile pulling at her lips.

"That's what they all say. Room 203."

Offering the woman a polite bow, I took off up the stairs, frowning. It wasn't a crush. I was too old mentally for Gaara right now, and he was in a delicate position. I would not be taking advantage of that. We were friends, and if we ever became anything more it'd be at least four or five years into the future. No exceptions there.

It felt highly uncomfortable getting teased like that, because while I'd come to accept I was Naruto now, that I was twelve years old, a part of me was still the twenty year old that'd died. My original parents had been four years apart, which was why I'd set my dating age for this body around sixteen/seventeen. Even though I'm sure I'd be too busy trying to stay alive from the Akatsuki during that time period.

So after that maybe.

If I lived that long.

Sighing, I dropped Gaara's bento on top of my own, rapping at the wooden door with my free hand.

There was a lull in noise from the opposite of the wood, as if the occupants were questioning why there was any sound coming from their door at all. And the it was pulled open and I found myself face to chest with a Sand Jonin.

Tilting my head back until I could look the man in his eye, I put on my best winning smile.

"Hi, is Gaara here?"

The noise inside the hotel room hasn't started up again, and now seemed to evolve from curious silence to a horrified one. But I was more focused on the quiet footsteps that were approaching. Before Baki could so much as open his mouth, I saw a flash of red by his arm and let my gaze fall to a side, landing on Gaara.

"Hey there, I'm on medical leave for some reason, so want to have a picnic?" I held up the bentos clenched in one hand, watching as Gaara gave a slow blink before shouldering past Baki.

"Gaara-" The older Sand ninja didn't get to say anything else, because Gaara just turned cold teal eyes on him, frowning but not saying anything.

I nudged the boy in the arm, watching as his stare swept to me for a second, before returning to his Jonin.

"I'll be back by sunset."

 

We walked out of the hotel, having past the receptionist again, who actually had the audacity to wink at me as we passed by. Scowling, I ran a hand through the single ponytail I'd thrown my hair up in, turning to look at Gaara who was now stood still on the street.

"What now?" He asked dully, eyes scanning the crowds that instantly parted for the two of us. No doubt taking in the way they looked at me, the way they shied away or glared. Noting the way so few of them dared to meet either of our eyes.

"Now we go and find things we like doing together. Me and Neji spar a lot, or we make jutsus, like the chakra glide technique I used in our fight. But then Kiba and I sometimes spend time playing with his family's ninken, and there was one time I even managed to talk Sasuke into going swimming in one of the training ground lakes, even if it was under the guise of teaching him water walking. Maybe we should just walk around until an idea comes to us?" Shrugging, I snatched up the boy's hand, noting the sand that coated it. Clearly I wasn't past that ultimate defence yet, but hey ho. Slow progress, but progress all the same, considering my hand hadn't been torn off.

"Why walking? Is there nothing more productive to do?" Gaara's voice was still in that irritating monotone, even if I could read the confusion in his words, simply because he was asking.

"Well I suppose, but sometime it's just nice to spend time with a friend."

"Naruto-chan!"

Pausing in my march forwards, I twisted around to see Shisui grinning, hands laced down with shopping bags but happily coming over.

"See, that's why Shisui's coming over, to talk and catch up. Hi Shisui-sempai." I addressed my fellow Leaf Ninja with that last bit, grinning and raising my arm, the one that was still attached to Gaara's.

"This is Gaara. I know you've seen him before but we're friends now and you came bouncing over here so I thought I'd introduce you."

The Uchiha nodded, lips pressed together in a firm line and a jokingly stern look on his face.

"As long as this isn't another Haku incident, then go have fun Naruto-chan. I'm going to be out of town for the next month, training Sasuke-brat with Kakashi. You'll be okay, right?"

I nodded, letting go of Gaara's hand to give Shisui a one armed hug.

"I'll be fine, now jog on. Go train Sasuke up so he can give me a challenge later."

 

Gaara and I spent a lot of time just walking around the village, until it got to about two in the afternoon and my stomach rumbled, alerting me to the fact neither of us had stopped to eat. Which found us where we were now, sat under the tree at the academy, the roots of the trunk supporting our backs and bentos on our lap.

"This is where it all started for me." I murmured, looking at the swing out of the corner of my eye.

Those first few days at the academy had been tough. I'd been in a strange place, without anyone familiar, without anyone who really cared. Well, the Third had, but also happened to be Hokage, which meant he was very busy indeed, too busy to come and pick an orphan up every day. Not that he could have done, could have shown any more favour to the Kyūbi Jinchuriki than he already was.

"I didn't have anyone really, not while I was here. All the other kids teased me, whether because they were jealous or their parents told them they could get away with it, I don't know. But I raced through the academy, and then I was put under Kakashi-sensei. I don't think I'd have made it as far as I have without him."

Until I'd met Shisui, Kakashi had been the one person who'd been around, who'd accepted me unconditionally. True I'd only been considered his apprentice at the time, but it'd given me purpose. Sure it'd evolved to an almost brother-sister relationship, but before that, being Kakashi's apprentice was how I'd defined myself. I wasn't the Kyūbi that the villagers kept calling me, but my mind had been rejecting the title of 'Naruto' during that time period. Being Kakashi's apprentice had given me the chance to grow, to stabilize my life. Which was why I understood Haku perfectly.

"How?" Gaara asked, picking at a slice of salted tongue with an unreadable look on his face. Whether it was down to the question, or the fact I'd remembered he liked salted tongue and gone out of my way to make it, I don't know.

"I don't really think there was a how Gaara. We just grew attached to one another. Your sensei cares for you, you know?" Leaning back against the tree a bit more, I let out a low sigh, my eyes slipping closed as I did so. "I could see it in his eyes, he was really cautious when I asked after you, and not just because I was a Leaf Genin. I'm not sure how deep the feeling runs, but the fact he cares a little bit gives you some space to start on, no?" Not daring to open my eyes, I slipped the last slice of tomato from my own bento between my lips, letting the flavour sweep over my tongue. Yes, sending out all those clones years ago to learn the culinary arts had been an excellent idea indeed.

 

It was an hour or so later, after just sitting calmly in soft silence with Gaara and enjoying the warmth on our skin, that the peace was broken.

"Nee-chan!"

Eyes snapping open at the familiar call, my heart almost leapt out my throat when sand rose up and blocked Konohamaru's usual tackle hug.

"Don't hurt him!" I cried, torn between reaching out for Konohamaru and cuffing Gaara around the head.

"He was going to attack you," Gaara deadpanned, eyes narrowed on Konohamaru, who was flailing about in his sand and screeching about the creepy boy that was too close to his nee-chan.

"It's okay, it's just an excited hug. I'm used to them."

The Suna Genin frowned, but nevertheless let out a low sigh and moved his arms, the sand dropping to the ground and slowly meandering back to rest at his feet. Instantly Konohamaru had his arms around my neck, sat quite neatly in my lap and he was chatting a mile a minute, all the other academy students mulling around curiously. I could even spot Iruka stood off to a side, the panic over Konohamaru's capture only half drained from his face.

"So didya win Nee-chan? Huh, did ya?"

Laughing, I ruffled the tuffs of hair that stuck out of Konohamaru's funny hand, gesturing for Moegi and Udon both of who looked very curious, to come and join us.

"First of all, guys, this is Gaara from Suna. Gaara, these are Moegi and Udon. The little monkey currently climbing me like a tree is Konohamaru. You've seen them before, remember?"

The redhead nodded, frowning as he looked over the trio of academy students again.

"He's the creepy one that scared the mean one, right Nee-chan?" Konohamaru asked, pulling his face out from my neck and grinning wildly.

Tugging at the boy's scarf until he was an acceptable distance away from my head, I looked over at Gaara, answering, "Gaara's  bit creepy, but he can be quite nice if you try Maru-kun. And the mean one was Kankurō, Gaara's older brother."

"He is mean." Was Gaara's helpful addition to the conversation, startling a laugh out of me. It clearly hadn't been meant as a joke, but that fact somehow only made it more amusing for me. Even the Konohamaru Corps were grinning, Moegi and Udon shuffling a bit close and seating themselves so we were in a circle, like it was story time.

"Nee-chan!" Konohamaru gave an almost vicious tug of my ponytail, drawing my attention back to his pouting face, "you never said if you won."

Laughing, I returned the playful pull on the boy's spiky hair, looking at Gaara.

"I won Otouto, I beat Gaara to a place in the final test. In fact," getting to my feet, and thus sending Konohamaru tumbling off of my legs, I turned to Gaara and offered a hand to help him up, "let's show them your sand defence. I'll only use Taijutsu and so that Konohamaru knows how hard you made me work for that victory."

 

That was how we spent the rest of the day, the two of us showcasing a bit of our abilities -Gaara and his sand, me and my taijutsu- even if we weren't trying too hard. After watching for five or so minutes, Konohamaru decided he wanted to have a go at getting past the ultimate defence too, and began attacking. I could almost sense Iruka's heart threatening to give out, my own was in the same state.

But the sand didn't hurt Konohamaru at all, instead flicking him back, rougher than what I'd have liked, but far more gentle than I'd have expected. Upon seeing their fearless leader join me in battle, the rest of the Konohamaru Corps raced to join in.

Even though there was four of us, we still couldn't get around Gaara's defence, not unless I'd started pumping my limbs with chakra. But it was only a spar for fun, so I saw no need to do that.

Looking up at the positioning of the sun, and the approaching Ebisu, I was sure it was rapidly approaching tea time.

"Okay then, that's enough!" Clapping my hands together in an attempt to regain control of the situation, I sighed when none of the academy students so much as looked my way, far too entertained with trying to get past Gaara's sand.

My fellow Jinchuriki seemed to hear me though, because with a flick of his wrist, all three kids were surrounded by sands, only their heads sticking out, and hung upside down in front of me. I quickly scanned all of their faces, yet upon finding no discomfort, turned to Gaara and grinned.

"Thanks, that's damn effective."

Turning back to the trio, I clocked the fact Iruka had intercepted Ebisu in the special Jonin's approach, appreciation running through me at the gesture.

"When I say it's time to stop, it's time to stop. You're lucky Gaara paused the game, because otherwise I'd have walked away and not treated you to dinner."

"Aw no wait! Please Nee-chan, please!"

This was followed by twin cries from Moegi and Udon, both of whom substituted 'nee-chan' for 'Kaichō-chan'. I had no idea where they'd picked it up, but I knew exactly which silver haired Jonin to blame it on.

"What do you think Gaara, should I let the troublemakers join us for dinner?"

The Suna Genin blinked, clearly having not expected for his opinion to be asked and I had to root my feet to the ground in order to not go tell of those brats that dared to call themselves his older brother and sister. True I didn't know the whole story, but I knew for sure if I'd had a sibling I'd have stuck with them throughout this whole life, demon in the belly or not.

"Only if the loud one listens to his sister."

Konohamaru let out a victorious cry, before realizing what he'd been called and retaliating with his own name calling.

 

We went to the BBQ place that team ten usually occupied, but they weren't there tonight. In fact, it was quite quiet, but perhaps that was because we sat in the window and both Gaara and I were in clear view of all those wanting to come inside. Apparently news spread fast through the ninja ranks about two Jinchuriki meeting up.

Regardless, I had a good time, scribbling away at the colouring mats that Konohamaru and crew were offered but refused to use, much to Gaara's evident confusion. Though I was sure that his lips twitched up a bit, so perhaps he was amused too. You know, somewhere deep, deep down. Real deep down.

It was only as we were finishing out dessert that Ebisu swooped in, snatching up all three protesting kids and leaving without saying anything.

Thus, it was rather quiet when Gaara and I were walking down the street back to his hotel, a stick of dango hanging from my mouth and Gaara's still wrapped up in the packaging he'd bought them in.

"So, good day?" I asked, angling my head backwards slightly, staring up at the sky that was lighting up with colours now that the sun was setting.

"It has been... Pleasant," Gaara murmured, his own eyes focused dead ahead of us, perhaps on the hotel that we were rapidly approaching.

"I don't think I'll be training every day, day in, day out. We can do this again before the exam is over, if you want that is?"

Letting the boy mull it over, I stopped by the front of the hotel, noting that Baki was sat atop the roof, eagle sharp eyes watching us, or probably most likely, me.

"I think I would like that Naruto."

Grinning I snapped off a quick salute, swiftly tracking out the quickest path up onto the rooftops.

"Great. See you around Gaara."

 

* * *

 

 

Gaara was different. Baki's frown deepened as he watched the boy walk out of the bathroom that they were staying in.

So much had been thrown off course the previous day. Gaara was suppose to go through to the final matches, that was the way it was suppose to happen. Gaara was their strongest weapon, their strongest Genin. He'd never even gotten a scratch on his missions before. He was suppose to be in the final.

And then, then he'd been matched up against the Leaf's latest little genius, even if she'd not advanced in the ranks since her promotion to Genin near six years ago. Baki had done his research before coming to Konoha, he'd read about the little genius apprentice of Hatake Kakashi. That alone had made her dangerous.

But he'd been confident in Gaara, confident in the boy's abilities to win, even if it possibly meant a messy death of the enemy. He'd miscalculated though.

There had been a chance that Konoha had a Jinchuriki, they'd all heard about the attack of the Nine Tails. But they weren't going to rule out the rumour that the Fourth Hokage had actually killed the fox. That man had done things with seals never seen before, and seeing as the war had only ended a year before, they all still held a healthy fear of the man, possibly warping his abilities into something more benefitting a legend.

Anyway, it was evident those rumours were fake now, Baki had been the one to stand there and witness the two Jinchuriki going at one another, to watch as the girl forced the bubbling red chakra back until she matched up against Gaara with only a single tail of power. It'd been a statement, a proclamation that even if she only used the same power, she was stronger than their Jinchuriki. That she didn't just have quantity on her side, but quality too.

He'd not come to the Leaf expecting that Gaara would get his first wound. That Gaara would face his first loss.

Then the girl had hugged him. He'd been too far away to hear what she'd said to their demon container, but it'd clearly been something that'd changed Gaara's entire perspective, because when he'd gone down to the medical bay to inform him that both Temari and Kankurō had come out victorious, he'd been treated to the sight of the Leaf Genin sleeping on Gaara's shoulder, puddle of drool gathering on the boy's shirt.

Gaara had looked discomforted, but had made no move to throw the girl off. The change had been, well, Baki wasn't sure how to describe it. But there had certainly been a change.

Which was why when the girl had come knocking today, he'd not instantly turned her away, why he'd allowed Gaara to leave with her for the day. Because he had a feeling she'd be good for the boy. And he was right.

He'd tracked them through the day, watched the way Gaara handled the multiple new interactions, both between the girl and the three academy brats that'd come to orbit around them. He'd watched Gaara's sand bat almost playfully at the three children's clumsy attempts to penetrate the defence. He'd watched, disguised, as they'd eaten dinner. As Gaara interacted like a person. A social stunted person, but a person none the less.

The most telling thing though, was when he'd jumped down to join Gaara outside the hotel, watching the blonde tearaway leap away onto the rooftop routes. The redhead hadn't look him in the eye, instead turning on heel and heading inside the hotel.

But Baki hadn't imagined the quiet 'I'm sorry', that the boy had whispered.

Whatever the outcome of this invasion, at the very least, the trip to Konoha had changed Gaara for the better. The Kazekage would probably still need to talk to Gaara if he wanted the boy to still participant, because now, if Gaara was going to transform, it would be in the stadium. With all their potential future clients. And the spelled all different kinds of disasters.

The plan needed fixing, soon.

"So how was Gaara's date then?" Kankurō grumbled, arms folded and a mutinous frown on his face. Temari was probably still out training. The girl had been terrified for the first three hours after she'd found out her opponent, but then it'd turned into a ferocious steely determination that he'd never seen on her face before, but on plenty of war time ninja. It was the expression of someone who knew they were going to be fighting for their life. Though Baki was rather sure that the Leaf Genin wouldn't take Temari's life. She hadn't taken Gaara's after all, when all she'd have needed to do was draw a kunai to do so.

"Don't ask stupid questions Kankurō," Baki crouched, rubbing at his forehead as he did so, "I am going to go and see how Temari is doing. Do not do anything stupid." Baki disappeared in a whirl of sand, inattentively wondering just how long it'd take Kankurō to realize something had changed with Gaara.

He'd give it a week, at least.

 

* * *

 

 

Knelt before the Hokage, I pushed down the urge to look up, to examine the only man in the room I'd never met. I'd had a very brief meeting with Danzō before today, when he cornered me on my way back from visiting the Hokage and asked if I was truly happy under Kakashi's leadership. Recognising the recruitment pitch for what it'd been, I'd answered with blunt honesty that I couldn't imagine learning under anyone else, and that I trusted Kakashi-sensei with my life.

I'd not seen the elder since then, but my stomach bubble in anger, knowing that he'd had a hand, if not pushed outright, for the Uchiha massacre. He was certainly the reason Itachi was being forced to live the life of an S-ranked criminal. I don't know how Sasuke had felt, but I'd rather have known my family were traitors and have my loyal brother with me instead of the current situation.

But I didn't really get a say on that front, it wasn't my business until it was. Or at least, it would be, some point in the future. I was going to save Itachi. I was. He was one of the priorities on my list, because his life had just been so awful. My own hadn't been good, but I'd found the precious things, the precious people to cling to. Itachi had Sasuke, but at the same time, he didn't have him. I was determined to change that. If only because the man had sacrificed his own family so that I and the rest of the ungrateful, unknowing Konoha citizens could live in peace.

It was only fair I returned the favour.

Just without the mass murder part.

"So, this is the brat then?"

Looking up at Jiraiya, I grinned, reaching into my hip pouch for the item I'd bought for this occasion specifically.

"Are you Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Ha, the brat knows of me!"

Thrusting the book that was in my pouch at the man, I bowed my head.

"Please sign this for me!" The hardback book was carefully taken from my hands, and I heard Jiraiya suck in a surprised breath.

"The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi?"

Lifting my head up, I drew another book out of my pouch, making a blatant show of trying to be subtle as I passed him the next book.

"That one too please."

"Ah-ha! Icha Icha Paradise! Some of my best work!"

You could tell the second the remaining two member of the room registered what Jiraiya had just said, because Danzō's face all but turned to stone and Third ended up inhaling his smoke instead of exhaling it like you were suppose to.

"Hang on a second. You're way to young for this."

"Old enough to kill, old enough for the rest as far as I'm concerned. I'm considering writing my own series in a few years."

Jiraiya looked torn between pride with his fellow author, and horror regarding his bad influence as a god father.

"Hiruzen, surely you can see that Jiraiya will only do more harm than good?"

"Get lost," Jiraiya grumbled, one giant hand coming down to rest on my head and steering me until I was beside him and thus, the Sannin was between both Danzō and I, "she's my god kid, that means I get to train her. Like I'd let her anywhere near you." It was quite clear that from the tone of Jiraiya's voice, he wouldn't let Danzō teach me if he were the last ninja on the face of the earth.

Meanwhile, between the two feuding men, the Third gave a smoky cough, gathering my attention.

"What I also wished to discuss with you today Naruto-chan, if now that your status as the Kyūbi Jinchuriki was unfortunately forced to surface, was if you wished to reveal your parentage too." I froze at the question.

While it would be nice to be acknowledge as the daughter of the Fourth, nice for people to look at me with something other than hatred-

"But Iwa and Kumo.. Iwa would want me dead and Kumo tried to kidnap mum. I... I don't think I'm ready to defend against that kind of threat. But if you feel it is necessary to bring more of a crowd for the exams, then I'll just have to train harder, Hokage-sama."

The Third made a pleased sound in the back of his throat, nodding as he did so.

"I shall let you know Naruto-chan. See Jiraiya, I told you she had a levelled head on her shoulders."

"Yeah yeah, just like her old man. Now come on brat!"

I was scooped up much in the same way Kakashi had cradled me to his side the previous day, hanging limply from Jiraiya's arms like a much beloved sports ball.

"There's training to be doing!"


	8. The Invasion

"I don't know, I think you need to write one were it's not all focused on big and bouncy. I mean, sure the descriptions are great, but not everyone has that kind of bust, you know? Female's do read these things, they just don't like admitting it, so perhaps you need to expand the range when it comes to types of women you write about," waving the book in question around, I grinned upon noting that Jiraiya was actually scribbling down what I was saying, "so maybe go for a male character with an appreciation for small but perky?"

"Yeah yeah, that's great!"

Currently, the two of us where hidden behind a silencing seal, sat on the rooftops of the bathhouse and disguised as best as could be. It was only one more sleep before the Chũnin exams, and I was enjoying a lazy day, spent with my god father.

So far, we'd spent every day training, though there were a handful of days which we both agreed to call off early for, that way I could go and spend some time with my friends and Jiraiya could go and harass some women.

Right now, sprawled across the rooftops, it was the most peace I'd had all week.

"Alright then kiddo, what kind of features do you look for in a male character then?"

Tapping at my lower lip with my index finger, I took in the sight before me. We were perched on the rooftops in such a space that we could see into both sections of the bath house.

Hey, as far as I was concerned, Hyūga could see through clothes with their bloodline, there was nothing wrong with the two of us staying up here. It's not like we were seeing anything below waistline and in truth, modesty was kind of thrown out the window when you were a ninja. I already knew from the incident with Iwa that Kakashi would have seen me shirtless, just to assess if there had been a wound or not. Even with my underdeveloped body, the twenty year old in me had cringed at that thought.

Since then though, Tenten had managed to nail me in the buttock with a senbon, and I'd been forced to bear my rump to the medic nin's so that they could make sure I was healed up correctly by my tenant, Tenten hastily apologizing between her nervous giggles by the door. At the very least it was becoming a shapely rump, what with all the squats and running I did, so I supposed if modesty was going to dissolve like sugar in tea, then at least it'd be doing so while I had a good body.

"Dark hair, definitely. You've had three characters with lightly coloured hair and one dark so far, so go dark again. Strong jaw line, and even give him dark eyes or an unusual colour, none of this blue and green and brown nonsense, make it his most noticeable feature."

Jiraiya gave a hum, scribbling down and then taking a peek and my doodle. I'd been an okay artist in my past life, but now with my heightened sight and impressive dexterity, I was so much better at it. Several different sketches of both the male and female figure were printed across the paper, the man my parents entrusted me to letting out a little perverted giggle.

"You know, I was worried when Minato said you were a girl," Jiraiya mused, a proud smile on his face as he snatched up one of my sketches, "but I think things have worked out for the best. Even if he is going to beat me senseless in the afterlife."

"Please, all you have to do is stay alive long enough for him to forget about it."

"Brat, I don't think he ever will if you actually write your own books."

Snickering, I picked at a piece of meat from my packed lunch, turning my gaze back towards the bathhouse.

And coming face to face with Hyūga Neji instead.

Letting out a squawk of surprise, I fell back on my rear, Jiraiya cracking up somewhere to the side of me.

"What are you doing?" Neji asked quietly, eyes instantly tracking the papers I was hastily shoving towards Jiraiya, as if a greater proximity to the man would magically change the handwriting from mine to his.

"Nothing!" I squeaked, around about the same time that Jiraiya managed to break his laughter to proudly announced that I was aiding him in his research. I could see the pieces fall together in Neji's head, locked on the series of Icha Icha books I'd brought with me for reference material while we were chatting, his eyes drifting from the author's name to rest on the man himself.

A look of sheer disbelief crossed over Neji's face for a second, and then he pinched at the tender flesh resting atop the bridge of his nose, shaking his head back and forth.

"I do not want to know. Naruto, are you busy right now?"

Looking over at my god father, who was offering a thumbs up behind Neji's back, I had to bite down a growl.

"No, not at all. Just let me punter Jiraiya-sensei off the roof."

"Wait, what?"

I knew he could have dodge, could have easily dodged, but the Sannin seemed happy enough to get thrown down into the women's bathhouse. Mainly because I'd done it in such a way he'd landed atop a rather well endowed lady. Hey, I had to show a bit of mercy if I was sending him down there.

Turning back to Neji, I grinned.

"Yeah, I've got time now."

 

Walking through the streets with Neji, I stuffed one hand into the front pocket of my jacket.

"So erm, what's up Neji?" It wasn't like Neji to come and seek me out for any reason other than a spar, and I highly doubted that was the case, seeing as there was a possibility that we'd be going head to head tomorrow in front of an entire stadium, and he did not want to be showing me all of his best moves right off the bat. That'd be giving me a little too much to go at, in all honesty. So that left me with a burning curiosity on why he'd come looking for me.

"I was actually approaching by a girl asking if I knew you." What went unsaid was the possibility that the girl had asked several people already and they'd point blank ignored her, or otherwise ran off and paid no attention to her at all.

Frowning, I ran through my memoires, trying to remember if there were any girls from outside of town that I'd ever helped out before, but none came to mind, not any that'd see the need to journey to the Leaf anyway. I was pretty much drawing up an blank, which as a ninja with supposedly superb memory, I really shouldn't be doing.

"Naruto-chan?"

Choking slightly as I recognised the voice, I spun on heels, coming face to collar bone with the source of the voice.

"Haku-san?"

Haku smiled back at me. He looked so much better than he had before, healthier, happier even. His hair was still completely perfect, falling with not a strand out of place and looking very pleased with himself. Part of me wanted to hug the older boy, he just looked so much better, but another part of me was cautious. Why was he here?

As if reading my mind, the teen laughed, the sunlight catching the gleaming metal of his Kiri forehead protector.

"I was chosen as one of Mei-sama's body-guards for the trip to Konoha. Mei-sama wishes for your Hokage to know she is very serious about the alliance she proposed."

Alliance? What? When had this happened? Why had Mei come out of her way to propose an alliance? The Leaf wouldn't want to associate with rebels against any village, not out in the open, unless-

"Is this Mei the Mizukage?!"

Haku's smiled widened and it wasn't hard to believe that even Neji, who was usually so good with details, would think he was female. Neji!

"Ah, Neji, this is Haku-san. We ran into each other on a mission a while ago."

My Hyūga friend's eyes narrowed, because usually when you ran into someone on a mission, it was because you were on opposing sides of the same mission.

Haku seemed to sense his thoughts to, because the boy gave a low bow of his head, hands clasped neatly before the battle kimono he wore.

"Naruto-chan gave me some very helpful advice when I was lost, I consider her a friend. I would very much like the time to catch up."

Neji grunted, stuffing his hands into his pockets and after checking with me to make sure I was okay with this, he went on his way, disappearing down the street.

"Okay then Haku-san, catch me up please."

 

Casually strolling through Konoha with a Mist nin got you more than a few looks, but the civilians knew enough by now that if another ninja was displaying their headband so proudly, it was because they had been let through the gates by the guards. The fact that another ninja, one from their own village, was walking with them was enough to put their worries to rest, because while they might know that I was the Kyūbi Jinchuriki, they also knew the reputation I'd been building up over the years.

It'd come out among the Jonin that it'd been my funding which had supplied the new Jonin lounge and the refurbishment. Throwing a handful of hot-tubs at the place had cemented me in their good books, and that feeling was slowly spilling over to their friends, be they ninja or civilian. They knew I was respectful to anyone who was of higher rank than me, that I was nice to the academy kids. That the Third happily allowed his grandson to refer to me as his older sister. It was slow going, but the amount of glares were lessening.

Being seen in the company of the Toad Sannin for the last month had probably helped as well.

"So the rebellion won then?" Cocking my head to a side in order to look questioningly at Haku, I bit my lip to stop myself ask just how it'd happened. I didn't like being asked about my higher level missions, the ones were I'd had to take lives. Haku had just finished fighting in a civil war, of course even as gentle a person as he would have taken lives.

"Yes, two months ago. Unfortunately it was not soon enough that we could send Genin for the examinations, Mei-sama wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly before we could do that. She did want to come and make peace with the Leaf though."

This was the bit I didn't understand though, why would the Mizukage come and want to make peace with the Leaf of all nations? Why us?

From Haku's little giggle, it appeared that I'd said that aloud and a blush burned across my cheeks, fingers toying with a strand of my hair. How embarrassing. I had the mentality of a grown woman, and I was still embarrassed so easily by this. Was it because I didn't know Haku too well?

"I think that it is because of you Naruto-chan."

"Huh?"

"When Mei-sama asked, I told her the story of how I met Team Seven, that it was you that sent me her way. She wishes to meet you." Because of me?

All I'd done was show a bit of mercy, offer Haku a way out, because I knew that had I lost Kakashi when it was just me and him, that'd have been it for me. I'd have been lost. I built my life around my sensei those first few years, and only now have I fully extended outwards, with Shisui and Neji and Kiba and Sasuke. And Kurama.

The fox gave a low warning growl in my mind, but otherwise remained silent.

"The Mizukage wants me meet me? But... But I'm just a Genin Haku-san."

"Everyone is a Genin at some stage Naruto-chan. I believe it's about what you could become." What a strange thought. True, but strange.

I wasn't going to be a Genin forever, Haku had nailed it on the head. I was going to continue growing, and there was a strong chance that I'd be promoted to Chũnin in these matches. Or, so I hoped.

Until recently, I'd only pictured filling Naruto's shoes. But now, now I had the world at my fingertips. As long as I could batter back all those who'd try to take it from me, try to take my world from me. For my friends were my world.

"Erm, Uzumaki-san?"

Both myself and Haku paused, turning to look at the source.

Haruno Sakura seemed very startled upon noting the company I was currently keeping, but she squared out her chin, brilliant green eyes locking onto me.

"Ah, Haruno-san was it?" The pink haired girl nodded, a determined tilt to her lips, nose in the air and sucking in a breath. She'd clearly pulled together a lot of something to come and find me if her body language was any indication. She was in the finals though, so perhaps she'd been working so hard on training that she'd not had the time to come and find me.

"I wanted to apologise. When- After the preliminaries, I instantly thought you were dangerous, too dangerous to be on Sasuke-kun's team."

Startled at the blunt honesty, I glanced at Haku from the corner of my eyes, to see how the boy was taking this. He seemed a bit confused, but I was pretty certain he knew I was a Jinchuriki. He'd seen me use the chakra after all.

"I was wrong. I- I don't think you'd have wanted it, because you can't have been more than a baby when the Kyūbi attacked. I was being hypocritical, because even though you told me Sasuke-kun had a seal forced on him, I believe he couldn't have changed. But I instantly thought the worst of you, and for that I am sorry." The girl bowed, clutching the scroll she'd been holding close to her chest.

My breath was caught somewhere in my chest, stuck between my lungs and wind-pipe.

This girl. Dear lord, without Sasuke on her team she'd flourished. Sure she still had a massive attachment to him, but she was so much more mature than I'd expected. Kurenai's influence no doubt, but still. For her to drum up the courage to come and admit to this, something I'd not even known she'd thought about me...

I wasn't sure if I'd have been able to do it, if I'd have just pretended otherwise. She was, this was...

Swallowing around my bone dry tongue, I drew in more air through my noise, not daring to open my mouth until I had the words I wanted to say.

"Ah, thank you Haruno-chan. I'm- Well, this is a shock to be honest. I wasn't expecting it. But thank you."

The pinkette nodded, a smile spreading across her lips before she pointed one perfectly manicured finger at me.

"But I'm not going to lose to you in this tournament! I'm going to impress everyone! Especially Sasuke-kun." And then she was gone. Gone before I could tell her she'd already impressed me.

Turning my attention back to Haku, I could already see the bemused smile on his face, his eyes following after Sakura's retreating form.

"Your village is very strange Naruto-chan."

"Is this how you felt when you met me?" I asked quietly, listening to the soft, husky laugh Haku let out.

"Not quite."

Smiling, I ran a hand down my face, letting out a low little sigh as I did so.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you'll be in some ambassador suite or something, but if you want any home cooked food, then this is my address, and bring whoever you like. Jiraiya-sensei will be there seeing as Kakashi-sensei ran off into the sunset with Sasuke, but that's all the company I have right now." Scribbling down my address on one of the sheets of paper I always kept on me, I offered it to the Mist Nin, Haku's cold fingers brushing against my own. His fingers should not have been so cold in the heat of a Konoha summer, but I suppose with his bloodline, that was allowed.

"Thank you Naruto-chan. I'll see you tonight."

"About sevenish, okay?"

 

At ten to seven, there was a knock on my door.

Almost knocking over the research notes we'd put together earlier today in my haste, I shimmed over Jiraiya's slouched form, slapping at his arm when he tried to half-heartedly slow me down. The white haired sage was half sat, half sprawled across my sofa, certainly dwarfing it, his nose occasionally twitching as the scent of dinner wafted around the room.

My hair was half thrown up in a loose French plait, falling loose around my shoulders and just stopping as my ribs did. It's grown rather well, but I was torn to keep doing so. My mother in this life, Uzumaki Kushina, had worn it exceptionally long. But I doubted I'd be able to fight with that kind of length trailing about after me. I wouldn't have to worry for another month or so though, before it outgrew a length that left me capable of fighting.

Brushing down the same sundress I'd worn on my first outing with Gaara, I pulled open the door, already beaming when Haku's face came into view. And then pausing.

"Hokage-sama?"

The Third was stood just left of the little party that'd found their way to my doorstep, and my eyes were instantly drawn to the only woman in the party, stood in the centre. She was beautiful, just as I'd have expected. What I hadn't expected was for her to show up on my doorstep.

"I hope you don't mind Naruto-chan, but Mei-sama wished to meet you and with the dinner invitation, Hokage-sama suggested that your food would be greater than anything else he could organise." Oh.

Basically Haku had announced my invitation and the Hokage, overhearing it, had made sure I wasn't left alone with several of Mists most powerful ninja. Very good choice.

"Oh no, that's fine. It's just that your Kage is very pretty and I have a Jiraiya sat in my living room."

The Third let out a low groan, no doubt imagining how this introduction was going to happen, while the Mizukage let out a startled laugh. As if her gorgeous appearance wasn't enough, even her voice sung with seduction. Jiraiya was going to be over the moon with my new dinner guest. That was, if I didn't kick him to it should he not behave.

"You're very cute Naruto-chan, I can see why Haku-kun likes have you as a friend." The Mizukage proceeded to pinch my friends cheeks and I couldn't help but giggle, looking to the tow remaining members of the Mizukage's party. Haku instantly knew what I was asking without words, because he straightened and gestured to his companions.

"This is Ao and Chōjūrō."

"Righty-oh then. My name's Uzumaki Naruto, welcome to my home."

 

I let a trio of shadow clones handle the rest of the food, instead sitting in my living room and watching Jiraiya watch the Mizukage. Who was inspecting my mantle-place.

All of my photos were on there, though they weren't many, a few more had joined up since Team Seven had come together. There was one taken not long after I'd graduated with Kakashi-sensei, and then the next was Team Seven's official photo. After that, there was the one from Wave, Kakashi-sensei having caught me sleeping on Sasuke's shoulder, the dark haired boy having fallen asleep on my head in return. Beside that was a picture of both myself and Neji, once again taken without our knowledge. We were hunched over a scroll, one that looked suspiciously like the scroll I'd used to scribble the chakra glide technique down on. I had my tongue stuck out between my lips, marking something down as Neji was pinching at the bridge of his nose, amused exasperation written across his features. The last photo was the latest one, taken in the tower from the second task. It was Sasuke, Kiba and I, a tangle of limbs that left one quite unsure where one body ended and the other began. What was obvious was that I was snoring, Kakashi having caught me mid way through the motion. And that Sasuke had been the cause of my wet patch, considering there was an evident trail of drool connecting his mouth to the scene of the crime.

"Is this your team Naruto-chan? You're all very cute."

Grinning sheepishly, I smacked Jiraiya over the back of his head when those dark eyes dropped to the Mizukage's rump for the sixth time already.

"They are Mizukage-sama."

"Oh, just Mei will do Naruto-chan. You were kind enough to cook for me tonight."

Nodding and swallowing past the lump in my throat, I got to me feet as the shadow clones popped, letting me know the food was now all set up on the table.

"Speaking of, dinner's ready."

 

"I knew there was a reason you were my favourite god child," Jiraiya murmured, inhaling another mouthful of food and staring longingly at the company sat up to my table.

Mei, as it turned out, was very fond of the Icha Icha series, something that shouldn't have surprised me. And as such, she was absolutely delighted to find out that it was Jiraiya that wrote the books. She'd been hesitant to discuss the literature up to table, but when I'd admitted to having read the full series myself, she hadn't held back on all of her thoughts.

Her fellow Kiri residents had gone bright red, and even the Hokage had looked a little ashamed as the three of us went about discussing ideas for the next book, Mei agreeing with my opinion of a dark haired male for the next hero.

"So, are you staying for the final tomorrow, Mei-sama?"

"I wasn't planning on doing so, but since Haku-kun's precious friend is competing, then we'll just have to stick around."

The Hokage looked very pleased at the admittance, twining his fingers together.

"In that case, I'll let them know it's one more for the Kage box then."

"Ha, that doesn't put any pressure on me to win this thing then," I muttered, Chōjūrō sending me a nervous but nevertheless amused smile across the table.

"I've got complete confidence in you kiddo." Jiraiya declared, slamming an open palm down on the table before his face lit up in a hopeful smile, "and confidence that you've got some alcohol in this house?"

The Third's mouth popped open, readying himself to deny such a thing, but stopped when I pulled a bottle of bubbly champagne from out of a nearby cupboard. It shouldn't shock him, I was selling this stuff on my market, of course I'd have full access to my own supplies.

Mei let out another joyous laugh, clapping her hands together and then grinning over at Ao.

"Tell me we have one like her back home." She paused at the thought, turning to look at the Third and smiling, "If not, where can I order one?"

 

I ended up housing the entire party from mist for the night along with Jiraiya, who insisted on camping out in my living room and that I absolutely had to sleep in the same room if I insisted on having foreign dignitaries in my house. Because they might be here for a peace treaty, but so had Kumo several years before and we all know how that had worked out.

As a result, I was just a bit terrified of going to visit my favourite tenant with Jiraiya in the room, but refused to put it off any longer. Lying still on the sofa, I let my eyes flutter shut, breathing evening out.

As per usual, when I opened my eyes, it was to the sight of huge golden bars.

"Well," I mused, rocking back on my heel and grinning, "I didn't lose."

Kyūbi snorted, rolling both giant red eyes skywards, but his lips still twitched up in a smirk. He looked pleased, a feeling which I hoped remained in all honesty, because a pleased Kyūbi meant more chance of a pleasant conversation.

" **You almost lost though. It was too close.** "

"I wanted to prove that quality beats quantity. That even if I was only using one tail, I could still kick sand demon butt."

Kyūbi snorted, warm air fluttering through my short bangs as I made my way forwards.

" **What are you doing brat?** "

Slipping past the bars of the cage, I took my first step into what had always been Kyūbi's territory. Until now that was.

Instantly I was pinned under one huge paw, and yes, it was heavy. Yes it kicked the air from my lungs and left me gasping for breath. But it didn't hurt, not really. It was just a light discomfort. Nine pointed tails curled around my immobile form, the razor sharp tip of each ready to skewer me.

" **Do you understand, ningen, what you have done. Stepping onto my side of the seal. I can rip you apart, I can tear your mind to shreds. At best, you'll be trapped in the seal too. At worst, your puny mind will be nothing but tatters.** " Teeth sharp and bigger than any I'd ever seen in my life were but inches from my face, Kyūbi's warm breath heating my skin.

Drawing in as much oxygen as I was allowed, I looked up into the brilliant red eyes that hovered over me.

"Hi. I'm on my second life and my name is currently Uzumaki Naruto. I like my friends and dislike people who try to hurt them. I spend my time cooking and perfecting my knowledge of the ninja arts. My goal for the moment is to get strong enough to look after my friends, and to add my grumpy tenant to that list." Finishing my say, I looked up at the Kyūbi again expectantly, unable to do much of anything considering my entire body was beneath his giant paw. Other than blink and smile up at the fox.

The silence stretched on, only broken by my quiet breaths and the occasional drip of water descending from the ceiling.

After what felt like hours, could have been hours, the paw pressed down on me for one panic filled second, and then Kyūbi dropped down until he was lying sprawled out beside me.

" **You are absurdly persistent for a human.** " The weight that'd been holding be down disappeared so that the Kyūbi could run the limb down his face, looking like he was at the end of his rope.

Pushing myself up into a sitting position, I crossed my legs under me and planted my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands.

" **My name is Kurama, oldest of the Sage's sons. Do not forget the name of the one you beg favours of, you stupid ningen.** "

Laughing, I tried my best to make it look like I wasn't wiping away a tear that'd escaped my eye. It wasn't complete acceptance, not even close. But it was a new level of understanding.

"It's nice to meet you Kurama, oldest of the Sage's sons. I hope we can get along well!"

The fox snorted, batting me out of the cage with one fluffy tail, sending me bodily tumbling over the water surface, until I finally lost momentum and came to a wet stop.

" **Do not shame me brat.** "

Was the last thing I heard before I woke up.

 

It was pleasant to walk to the stadium with Haku, seeing as both Chōjūrō and Ao had gone ahead with Mei already, all of us full to the brim with a clone cooked breakfast.

"Are you excited for your match Naruto-chan?"

"Hmm?" Chewing on my lip, I thought back on all I'd learnt so far with Jiraiya.

We'd gone over all the seal theory I understood, and then the man had create a shadow clone to go off and teach my own shadow clone a few more tricks about overlapping interlocking sealing tiers. This was of course after he'd fixed up the mess Orochimaru and I had made of my seal. Once that was back to basic, Jiraiya ran me through a handful of water jutsus and got me started on the toad summoning business.

Mostly though we'd worked on improving my physical strength. As a girl, I was at automatic disadvantage, and while Tsunade had managed to find a way around that with excellent chakra control, her technique was not something I could ever hope to create. I had lots of chakra, oceans worth if everyone else's was compared to a pond or lake. But the more you had the harder it was to control. I'd never be able to use chakra control to break the ground with my bare fists.

That just meant I had to look elsewhere.

It'd only taken a day of putting out heads together for Jiraiya and I to come up with a solution, two weeks for us to actually create it. It was incredible, working with someone with so much knowledge when it came to my favourite subject. I'd learnt so much in this past month it'd probably outstripped half a year of clone research.

Dear god I hoped I got to go on the training trip, I was going to drain Jiraiya dry of Fūinjutsu knowledge if so.

"I'm pretty damn excited Haku-kun, I've got a few tricks up my sleeves."

Haku looked quite blatantly at my sleeveless arms and I laughed, scratching abashedly at the back of my head.

"Well, you know what I mean."

"Naruto!"

Straightening up, I turned to get a look at Kiba, who skidded to a halt and stared, in a blazingly obvious manner, at Haku.

"You're that ice dude! What the hell are you doing here!"

Laughing, I linked my arm with Kiba's, bumping my hips into the boy's.

"Kiba, Haku-kun has come with the new Mizukage to watch the Chũnin exams."

"Yeah, well keep your lips away from our Kaichō-chan! She's not dating anyone until she's seventeen, she said so." Kiba nodded victoriously, like the words he'd tagged on the end made such obvious sense that they could not be argued against.

My cheeks flamed with embarrassment but Haku just gave another teasing laugh, smiling again.

"Of course. Good luck Naruto-chan."

And he was gone in a swirl of little ice crystals. Well, that was new. And absolutely gorgeous. Why were we stuck with leaves again?

Huffing, Kiba threw his arm over my shoulder, muscling me forwards as he did so.

"Come on Naruto, you'll be late if you don't get going."

"But I'm the last fight Kiba, and Nara-san is going before me. And from what I understand he'll be taking his sweet time against Neji."

The Inuzuka scowled beside me, pushing my body along that little bit faster, Akamaru nipping at his heels.

 

I was right. Despite turning up two hours late, Neji and Shikamaru were still going at it, though it was quickly coming to the end. Neji was going to win, that much was clear. And yet-

"Go Neji!" I couldn't avoid cheering the boy on. I might have shown up late, but I was here in time to witness the match. I had no idea if Shikamaru had shown enough qualities needed for a promotion, but knowing what I did about him, I was going to say that he had.

"I was the one training with Kakashi, not you. So why are you late?"

Pivoting on my heels, I grinned at Sasuke, throwing my arms around his shoulders. His muscles, while not bigger, felt a little tighter under my limbs, his arms a little stronger when he wrapped them around my waist and squeezed.

"Sorry, I was cleaning up from my sleepover with Mizukage."

The Uchiha scoffed, but when he pulled back from the hug and took another look at my face, he seemed to realize I was being dead serious.

"The Mizukage? Really?" His deadpanned question pulled a giggle from the back of my throat and I nodded, pulling one arm by whilst the other caught the oversized collar of his new shirt, twisting it to a side so I could get a good look at the seal. Kakashi had done a good job sealing it up, but now, it all depended on Sasuke's willpower. I'd have to nag Jiraiya into making that my next project, a way to either get rid of the curse seal, or fix it so it wasn't as harmful.

"Holding up okay?"

"Yes. Now, the Mizukage?" Sasuke repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Smiling, I swept Sasuke's collar back up, turning to look over the banister and watch as Neji pulled out the spinning dome trump card that should only be in the Hyūga main branch. Shikamaru had lost this one, he'd be low on chakra now and Neji's reserves were some of the strongest still in the tournament. Mainly because I'd pushed him the edge for near enough a full year, They had expanded just attempting to keep up.

"And why did you think painting your nails would be a good idea?"

Looking down at my nails, I conceded that the smell would make me easy to track. Not that I'd need to hide in these battles. They were the same brilliant blue as Mei's, considering that was the only colour she'd had on her at the time.

"Haku-kun joined the rebels and they won a few months ago. While they weren't ready to send some Genin to the exams, the Mizukage, Mei Terumi, arrived a day or two ago to offer a peace agreement. I invited Haku-kun over to dinner, and he brought Mei-sama, with Hokage-sama tagging along. Jiraiya-sensei stayed over the night, as did the rest of the group from Mist."

Sasuke let out a very long, very low sigh as the crowd roared behind us. Either Shikamaru had given up or Neji had won.

"Sometimes I think I have you figured out and then you go and do something like this," Sasuke grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and scowling.

"Yeah well, forget about my international friends. You're up next."

 

It was obvious that Kakashi and Shisui had focused on nothing but speed for Sasuke. Had they not, Sasuke wouldn't have been able to keep up at all. He only just managed even with a month of training. But manage it he did.

Sasuke was smart about the fight, never engaging the older Genin in Taijutsu unless it was unavoidable. It was tricky, but eventually Sasuke managed to knock Lee out with a well placed lightning jutsu, right before the boy could begin to start opening those gate things.

Sakura's match with Dosu -who I was surprised to learn was still alive- was interesting. I'd not really heard much from the pink haired girl, only really spoken to her yesterday. But she'd seemed so much more mature than I'd been expecting. Sakura leaned heavily on Genjutsu, no doubt due to her small reserves. She was good at it though, and in another year or so, she'd have definitely won her fight. The thing was though, Dosu had been trained ruthlessly on Orochimaru's orders, so it wasn't long until the girl recognised she wasn't going to win and forfeited before Dosu could knock her unconscious.

As the two returned to the box, I elbowed Sasuke in the ribs.

"Clap for her at least, she tried and she must have improved since the academy. A little encouragement can go a long way." The boy scowled, but nevertheless did as I'd asked, clapping along before his eyes narrowed and he looked over at me.

"Why am I doing this?"

"Positive reinforcement. She'll remember that you acknowledged her improvement in her skills, and thus, she'll go on to improve more in hopes of getting more acknowledgement. We might end up running missions with her one day remember."

Sasuke snorted and finished clapping a bit earlier than I would have liked, but he'd done enough for Sakura to recognise it. She looked torn between racing over to talk to Sasuke and offering Shino some luck for his upcoming match. However, the decision was taken out of her hands when Kankurō called out that he was forfeiting without even going down into the stadium.

Scowling, I rounded to look at the older Genin, matching his sneer with one of my own and hoping it was somewhat as impressive as the one's Sasuke usually churned out. The Uchiha death glare didn't work half as well with sunshine blonde hair and blue eyes, but it was worth a try.

"Would the participants for the next match, Uzumaki Naruto and Temari of the Desert, please come down here?"

So it seemed the Third had thought it best to keep everything hidden after all.

Scratching at one cheek, I paused when there was a soft tug on my hair, turning to look at Sasuke.

"Go and win Naruto. Because you're one of the ones I want to fight the most."

Holding my hand out, palm face down in the same motion that Kiba had a month ago, I grinned as Sasuke placed his own hand over mine, throwing it upwards as I did.

When I'd read the manga, I hadn't been fond of Sasuke's character, he'd made stupid decisions and rushed off in search of power. I hadn't been able to understand him, he hadn't been one of my favourite characters.

But the Sasuke I knew, the boy made of flesh and blood that stood before me now, I liked him. I liked the boy I'd half taught to water walk, half thrown into a lake. I liked the boy who'd come to hide under my kitchen table whenever Shisui decided to nag at him for whatever reason. I liked the boy that was one of my most beloved teammates.

"Will do Sasuke. Make sure to save some chakra for our fight, yeah?"

"Consider it done."

And then he pushed me off the balcony.

I managed to right myself, twisting and landing in a crouch, but I still scowled up at the chuckling Uchiha. Yeah, Shisui remaining alive had without doubt done his funny bone some good. I wasn't sure if I liked that or not.

Temari was stood across from me, a stern frown on her face and her unopened fan already in hand. Rotating my arms about in the sockets of my shoulders, I hopped from one foot to the other before falling into the loose ready stance that Jiraiya had spent a month beating into me.

"The fifth match between Konoha Genin Uzumaki Naruto, and Suna Genin Temari of the Desert is about to begin. Are the participants ready?"

"Tch yeah."

Eying Temari's resolve, I licked my lips, blood pumping through my veins.

"Ready to go."

"Fifth match of the Chũnin Examinations, start!"

 

I leapt back, cart wheeling out of the way as a gorge was cut into the ground where I'd just stood, the wind whipping around the site of impact. I didn't have time to play about with Temari, more important things would be going down today. I'd already had a shadow clone send a note to the Hokage, a note obviously not in my handwriting and wrote with my Fūinjutsu gloves on, so there'd be no chakra signature to track. I'd warned about the possibility of an invasion.

A part of me had wanted to believe that with Gaara changed, Sand and Sound would reconsider attacking. However, it all came back to Orochimaru. Orochimaru who really, really wanted his invasion of the Leaf. And he'd probably get it. I didn't know how much of a friend Gaara considered me, if it was enough for him to not attack the Leaf.

But I wasn't going to take any chances on it. I needed to preserve my chakra because out of everyone in the village, only myself, Jiraiya and the Third had a chance against a fully transformed Gaara. And the other two would be busy. Kakashi-sensei might have managed, but I was more sure in my own ability to smack Gaara out of it than I was in letting my sensei go up against Shukaku.

Which was why when Temari swung her fan at me again, I body flickered behind her, slapping a sealing tag on her neck and activating it. She was unconscious before she hit the floor.

There was a stunned moment of silence as I stood back, looking down at the blonde and blinking. I know I'd gotten faster with Jiraiya, knew I was above Genin level now, but that had seemed far too easy.

Closing my eyes for a second, I reached out my senses, inspecting Temari's chakra as best I could. Yet, she really was unconscious. I would have to thank Jiraiya for whipping me into shape, thank Kakashi for training me so well.

I opened my eyes in time to see feathers dropping from the sky around us, Kankurō dropping to the ground beside Temari and ripping the seal off the back of her neck. My brain felt like sludge as I took a wobbly step back, trying to figure out what was going on. Why Kankurō was down here helping Temari? I'd won, but I'm sure it wasn't a Sand Genin that was suppose to help her out of the ring.

"Move!"

Arms wrapped around my waist and bodily pulled me to a side as soon as a blade landed just where I'd been.

" **Genjutsu!** " Kurama snarled from his disturbingly shallow position in my mind, flooding my veins with his chakra for a second, instantly the confusion left me, my brain cleared and my head snapped up to glare at the newly awakened Temari and Kankurō.

Sasuke had managed to catch me in time so that the blade shot from the puppet hadn't hit me, but it had been a close call.

"You weren't kidding about the genjutsu thing," Sasuke grumbled. It took me a second to recall what he was referencing, my second introduction when we had official become a team. I'd warned them I was rubbish at genjutsu, it was lucky as hell that Sasuke had remembered that and thought to race into the ring and save me.

Otherwise I would probably have a knife sticking out of my stomach right now.

Crouched low on the ground, I tapped at the arm around my waist in code, letting my teammate know that I was okay, that I'd recognised the genjutsu and was no longer under the influence of it. Sasuke grunted, releasing his grip on my midriff but remaining half stood, half crouched over me as he had been upon landing.

"Damn it Kankurō, you were suppose to kill her," Temari grunted under her breath, limbs still twitching. Removing a knock out seal like they had done, without the little flare of chakra that was suppose to ease the process, meant that Temari would be suffering from muscular twitches for the next few minutes. It was obvious they had little to no understanding on Fūinjutsu now.

"Tch, like I'd let you get such a cheap shot in at her."

Sasuke snarled over my shoulder, eyes blazing Sharingan red the fist hovering by my arm clenched. Temari swung her fan around both herself and Kankurō summoning up a blast of wind to send us flying back. I parted it instead with my own wind jutsu, shredding the bandages from my arms and exposing the new seals that'd joined the old ones. The skin was staring to look a little cramped around my forearms, I'd have to tidy them up soon. If I got that chance.

Kankurō gave a wordless growl as he manipulated his puppet, senbon rocketing towards us as Sasuke launched a set of fire coated shuriken.

Neither of the attacks hit though, crashing into a wall of sand.

 

Staring, I whipped my head around to see Gaara stood in the stadium, face unreadable.

"Gaara?" Both myself and Temari spoke at the same time, in the same hopeful tone, and then turned around to glare at each other.

The red head was stood in the stadium, arms folded and a stern look on his face. He looked, resolved.

"Temari, Kankurō," Gaara started, teal eyes sliding over to look at them.

"I'm sorry."

For a moment, my heart leapt into my throat, sure that Gaara was about crush his own siblings to death. But the sand didn't move, other than to spit out the projectiles it'd absorbed.

"The man that ordered our invasion is not the Kazekage. I will not take orders from him."

My head cracked over to look at Gaara, mind whirling. I remembered something about Orochimaru posing as the Kazekage, but I hadn't known it was for any other day before the Chũnin exams.

"Wha- Gaara, what are you saying!" Kankurō had thrown his arm out, as if he could physically pull the gestures from Gaara's stoic composure. The red head's turned to look at me again, still as impassive as he had been since arriving in the stadium.

"I attack the imposture with my sand, but he dodged. Father would have used gold dust to suppress it. I will not attack the home of my friend under false orders." That was enough for me.

Standing up and brushing Sasuke's cautious limb from my shoulder, I walked over to Gaara, ignoring Kurama's warning that this could be a trap. Instead, I held out my hand.

"Maybe when our villages are on better terms Jiraiya-sensei and I can stop by and take a look at your seal. But for now, it's best if you and your siblings leave, unless you want to get caught up in the fighting."

Gaara took my hand and shook it. For the first time, even when I'd been hanging out with him it'd never happened, Gaara gave me a true smile. It was soft, but I could see the change from the manic grin I'd gotten fighting him a month ago.

"I look forwards to seeing you again, Uzumaki Naruto."

And then he was gone in a swirl of sand, taking his siblings with him.

For a second, Sasuke and I remained in place. Then an explosion went off to my right and we both snapped into action.

"So Sand was tricked by whoever took over their Kage, probably whoever is in control of Sound," Sasuke grunted, pulling on the ninja wire I hadn't seen attached to his shuriken and catching all the weapons, restoring them in the pouch on his leg.

"Seems so. We show Sound no mercy then."

Sasuke nodded from the corner of my eye and shot forwards to where he could see Kakashi-sensei's familiar silver hair, fighting with several enemy nin.

I shot ahead of Sasuke, pulling out a kunai and dropping behind the Sound ninja closest to my position. The cold metal reached out, sliding neatly through the jugular vein, red decorating the floor. in front of me. The Sound nin hadn't even collapsed yet before I was moving onto the next one. It'd been a year, but my body flowed perfectly around Kakashi-sensei's as if it'd been a day that passed since our last truly bloody mission. I'd had very few of those before, had always ended up rubbing my skin raw after each one, trying to get rid of the blood that just wouldn't disappear.

But it never stopped me from weaving in and out, from hitting low while Kakashi struck high. It didn't stop my blades from tearing through flesh, didn't stop the blood that splattered across my skin.

I might not like taking lives, but for my village, for the home of my most precious people, I would do anything.

 

* * *

 

 

He had actually thought he'd gotten better. Faster, stronger, he felt like he'd made so much more progress over the month of training, having both Kakashi and Shisui's undivided attention. He could understand how Naruto had gotten so good with Kakashi teaching her, when the man actually put his mind to it, he was ruthless. As a result, his speed and easily tripled, he'd been able to keep up with Rock Lee, instead of just watching with his Sharingan, as he had when the spandex wearing Genin had beaten Kiba like it was a game instead of a serious match back in the preliminaries.

And yet, and yet he was still nowhere near Naruto's level.

It wasn't his teammate that he was watching now, wasn't the Kyūbi Jinchuriki. Here he was watching the apprentice of Hatake Kakashi, the girl who'd ran B and A rank missions before being assigned to Team Seven. He was watching a girl that'd killed people before he was out of the academy, a girl who'd spent six years studying under a Jonin and was now proving just why she'd graduated early. He was getting stronger, but it wasn't enough. If he wanted a chance against that man he needed more power, and qui-

' _I don't know what kind of seal this is Sasuke, but the vast majority of curse seals eat away at something every time you use them. Your chakra and your mind are the most common. Tell me, do you want to be going up against that man with this weighing your chakra down, or perhaps you'd like to match your half devoured mind against his prodigious one?_ '

Hissing, Sasuke clamped a hand down on his neck, covering the burning seal.

No. He didn't need that kind of power. Naruto was right, it wasn't worth the risk.

He could get stronger without it. Sasuke skidded to a halt, watching Naruto and Kakashi with new eyes. It wasn't that Naruto was perfect, because she was having to chose what weapons came at her. On her own, she would never have won.

But she was trusting Kakashi to have her back, to cover her blind side and take out the attackers that she wasn't focused on. Naruto wasn't as strong as Kakashi, but when she was working with him they were a fluid, seemingly unstoppable team. They'd worked together for years, and it showed in their every movement, the way they didn't even have to look to one another to know what kind of attack they were going to use.

At one point, Kakashi snatched up Naruto's arm, twisting her out of the way of an attack that would have probably cut off her arm, Naruto lashing out from her new position at the enemy nin who would've landed an attack to Kakashi's otherwise unprotected back.

They were stronger together, as a team.

Willpower stronger than ever, Sasuke fully shut out the curse seal's call, entrusting the suppression that Kakashi had placed on him a month ago. Lobbying some shuriken and taking down one of the enemy ninjas that would have approached his team had they gotten a chance, Sasuke landed on the back of one of the chairs, noting that Kakashi had positioned himself to stand over the Genin there.

"Sasuke, wake up the rest of the Genin, then I want you and Naruto to head to the academy. They should be going through evacuation, so follow the route and once you catch up, defend them."

Nodding, Sasuke pushed down the urge to go out and just fight the invading ninja. Naruto accepted the orders to protect others without the slightest problem, so he would too.

"Understood." Sharingan scanning the faces of his year mates, Sasuke picked out Ino and Hinata. As girls, they would have the best chakra control, and thus, have an easier time waking the others up, leaving him able to get on with his orders as requested.

The low mumble from the Hyūga girl as she was waking up had Sasuke's eyes snapping to her, even as she let out a terrified little eep.

"Hyūga, wake up the rest and then look to Kakashi for orders."

Ignoring Ino, who was also beginning to rouse, Sasuke just managed to catch sight of the rest of the Leaf Genin from the competitors box approaching, an unconscious Sound nin carried between them. Good, they were okay and had clearly been busy taking down the enemy within reach.

"Let's go Sasuke!" Naruto's voice was the only warning he got before a hand clamped down on his upper arm, violently pulling him along.

Powering chakra to his feet so he'd actually be able to make the jumps alongside Naruto, the Uchiha didn't dare let go, for fear the speedy blonde would leave him behind. She stood for a second when they reached the rooftops, sharp blue eyes taking in the strange purple chakra construct before scanning their location.

"Academy is west of here," Sasuke supplied, pointing towards the building in question.

Naruto nodded, her eyes drawn to the eastern horizon where a giant toad was doing battle with an equally large snake.

"Right, to the academy then."

 

They dashed across the rooftops, occasionally taking out a nearby enemy ninja that didn't force them to go out of their way. They passed a group of Chũnin that were fighting, three of the enemy breaking off to give chase to the two of them.

"Jump Sasuke!" He didn't think about it, just jumped. Behind him there was a deafening blast of sound as one attack or the other struck a building, and Sasuke risked taking a glance in time to see Naruto rising from where she'd punched the building's main support beam and taken down the entire structure. Too late to change their landing position, the enemy disappeared into the rubble, three Konoha Chũnin descending after them with weapons ready.

"What the hell was that?" Sasuke snapped, pushing his legs harder in order to keep up with his tanned partner. Her long blonde ponytails were snapping about behind her head, swiping back and forth much like a vicious red tail of chakra he'd seen her use before.

"Seal work, I'll explain when we're not getting invaded." She had a point.

Grunting in agreement, the two of them landed on the academy rooftops, Naruto instantly engaging the sole enemy ninja that'd clearly been hoping to snatch up a child while they were all distracted. He was also the only enemy nin stupid enough to believe they wouldn't have evacuation drills in place to make sure that didn't happened.

So really, it wasn't that much of a surprise when Naruto took him out without too much effort, more crimson life fluid staining her cheeks.

Scanning the exit pathway that Sasuke remembered the drill running along, he found what he was looking for. The signal that the students were all safely up the mountain came in the form of the slightest change in the landscape. A rock that had formed naturally in the shape of a tree branch how had a single leaf stuck to it, probably by chakra. It was hard to make out from here, which meant it was perfect. The enemy, even on the off chance they had an idea of what to look for, would never be able to find it.

"They're in the safe area," Sasuke reported, listening to the squelch as Naruto removed her blade from the Sound ninja's heart.

"Lead on Sasuke."

Nodding, the Uchiha took off across the rooftops, bouncing from one to the other. The closer they got to the Hokage mountain, the less enemies they were, leaving more friendlies in sight. Both himself and Naruto had to have had an air of urgency about them as they shot by, because none made an attempt to stop them, instead several engaging the enemy with a bit more vigour, a bit more righteous anger than before.

Sasuke didn't think he'd ever ran this fast before, moved this swift. But Naruto was right by him, urging him onwards. He knew she had formed something of an attachment to a handful of kids from the academy, he'd seen how they flocked around her when Shisui and he had gone to confront Gaara and his siblings the day before the Chũnin exams started. She had to be worried sick. No matter how safe the refuge was, there was always a chance of enemy nin slipping in, and almost all combat ready ninja would be out defending the village on the frontlines.

Sending both himself and Naruto in to create more protection was a good call. The both of them were reasonably strong for Genin, and thus could afford to be taken off of the front lines, but when they were pushed, both of them could get vicious.

 

They arrived at the opening to the refuge to find one Konoha Chũnin already dead. Naruto snarled under her breath and shot into the opening, Sasuke pursuing her as fast as he could. As soon as he entered he caught a glimpse of Iruka fighting off a duo of Sound ninja, the academy students that had to be his class cowering behind him. He recognised one of the brats as Naruto's friend and instantly knew his teammate would show no mercy.

Shadow clones exploded into existence, each one snatching up a student and retreating up the walls until they were stood on the ceiling, leaving just the Sound nins, a wounded Iruka, and Naruto in the little clearing. The refuge had been split up into little pockets for this exact reason, so if anyone got in far enough they wouldn't be able to attack all the none ninja at once.

"Sasuke, get ready to give me some lightning." He knew instantly what Naruto was talking about.

Since Wave, both he and Naruto had spent a good amount of time working on their elemental jutsu, and while he'd not been able to use lightning jutsu at that point in time, Naruto was good enough to improvise with him. They both landed in front of Iruka, Naruto unleashing a gush of water from a seal on her arm, using some water jutsu or another to aim it at the enemy. She wanted lightning, Naruto would get some lightning.

Clutching at his left arm, Sasuke watched the light of Kakashi's signature technique spark to life around his fingertips, before he plunged the limb into the water. Instantly, the two enemy nin that had been caught up in Naruto's jutsu found themselves fried, not enough that it'd kill them but certainly knock them unconscious. His teammate had clearly taken into consideration their young audience, because Sasuke already knew the kind of trauma that could come from such a thing.

Another clone of Naruto's shot forwards with some rope, tying up the two enemies with expert fingers while the girl herself sent two more copies to guard the entrance.

"Is everyone okay?" Sasuke asked, turning to address the children, the copies of Naruto slowly placing them all on the floor.

"Yeah! You and Nee-chan were so cool! You were like; Pow, Bam! And they were like, oh-no!"

Sasuke highly doubted that was the thought running through the enemies head, but he pushed down the automatic comeback, instead turning to Iruka, who had approached the two of them with gratitude shining in his eyes.

"Chũnin-san," Naruto began, bowing her head and stance clearly recognising him as the one of superior rank. Not about to be shown up, Sasuke copied her posture, looking up at her past teacher.

"Kakashi sent us as relief."

"We don't know anything more regarding the current situation, but our observations upon approach indicate that things are under control."

"Thank you Sasuke, Uzumaki-chan. Could  ask you to stand guard outside? I can guess what became of Shura."

Nodding, Naruto turned on heels, ignoring the calls of the academy students that demanded to know what was going on. Sasuke followed after her, marvelling for a second. He'd gotten used to the warm Naruto, the one that worried after both him and Kiba, who was happy to share her training secrets, especially if she got to do something like throw him in the lake at the same time. But this Naruto, he guessed this was the Naruto from before Team Seven, back when it'd been just her and Kakashi taking serious mission after serious mission. It made him, uncomfortable, to see her face so closed off.

So that's why when he reached the mouth of the tunnel, he pushed back his worries about the curse seal, about how the invasion was going to turn out and the panic he felt knowing Shisui was out there.

And instead, he asked her how she'd managed to flatten that building.

 

* * *

 

 

"Mizukage-sama, what do we do?"

Scowling, Mei Terumi ran a perfectly manicured hand down her face. She'd only come for a peace treaty. A single peace treaty. Why was it that while seeking out an alliance she'd once again ended up fighting?

The Leaf was being invaded.

Frown deepening, Mei thought back on the characters that she'd me the previous night. To begin with, she had only wanted to meet Haku's friend out of morbid curiosity. The girl had known she was leading the resistance. How, Mei wasn't sure, but she'd known. When she'd gotten the invitation for dinner, she'd accepted because the Hokage had insisted that the girl's food would be better than anything the village could serve up for them. That'd been true, the girl was a very good cook indeed.

Haku's friend didn't seem to realize it, but she had a charisma about her, something that just made her every action stand out. She thought differently, far differently than any ninja Mei had met so far. She'd only been half joking when she'd asked Ao if they had something similar to Naruto in their own village. They had come to the Leaf village for an alliance, and at the time, it had been more favourable to Kiri.

Still the Third Hokage had signed it. Mei was not about to turn her back upon that trust.

The time of the Bloody Mist was over.

"We fight for Konoha," Mei ordered, watching as Ao's mouth tightened, the man nevertheless nodding. Mei knew that he'd fought one of the Konoha ninjas, a Uchiha before, but she hoped he could get past that.

"Chōjūrō, Haku, hit the streets and protect the civilians. I will not have people believe the new Mist will not help their allies."

"W-What about you Mizukage-sama?"

Spotting an almost familiar gleam of silver down in the stands, Mei shrugged off her formal robes, leaving her in the trusty  battle-dress.

"I'm not about the sit back and do nothing either." She might not have been quick enough to stop the Kazekage from snatching up the Hokage and hiding behind the purple barrier, but she would help.

Starting with Naruto-chan's Jonin sensei.

 

* * *

 

 

"So, you're telling me that you store chakra up in these seals and then when you release them as you punch, it creates a shockwave of chakra? And that's what destroyed that building?"

Eyes still dancing across the land around us, I gave a slow nod, picking at the dried blood flaking around my fingers.

It was the solution that Jiraiya had I had thought of when I'd been attempting to recreate Tsunade's punches. It wasn't a perfect solution, I could only get one punch out of a single seal, and then the seal would disappear off my skin when it was used, and I could only make one for one arm at a time. So really, I only had two punches that I could use. Still though, it'd been damn helpful, so I wasn't going to argue.

"I should really look into Fūinjutsu."

"I can give you a crash course once this is over."

Sasuke's head snapped around at my offer and I gave a low shrug of my shoulders, sorting through all the information from the clone that'd popped. I'd sent two dozen out into the surrounding area to patrol, so that we'd have some advanced warning if a threat was approaching.

Part of me screamed to get back out there, to go and find Kiba and Kakashi and Shisui and make sure they were as safe as can be.

"You would?"

"Well, it'd take years to get up to my kind of level, but yes, I'll give you a run down in how to create some of the basic seals. And if you want anything specific, then I'll do my best to put it together. I was actually planning to ask Jiraiya-sensei if we can take another look at your curse seal. I've got a few idea on how we can tweak it for the better, but I'll need his help with it, seeing as how he has more experience than me."

"Hn," Grunted Sasuke, leaving my lips twitching despite the situation we were in.

It'd been half an hour since we'd taken out the Sound ninja going for the academy students, and to calm both myself and Sasuke down, I'd gone through the technicalities behind my new seals. My teammate clearly hadn't understood a word the more technical details, but he'd followed the basic theory well enough. I'd spent enough time explaining one seal or another to both him and Kiba that I wasn't surprised they'd picked up a very loose understanding of the subject. I hadn't been planning on relying on seals so more to begin with, but they were so versatile. As long as you were organised with them, then they were damn effective.

"Clone just popped, Kakashi's on his way. We're on code Yellow." Code yellow basically summed up that the invasion was possibly over, but to be prepared in case of a second wave. Orange would have been worse, meaning that a second wave was very likely. Yellow meant that it was unlikely, but to be prepared in case of stragglers.

Not a second after I'd announced the village status Kakashi flickered into being before us. He didn't look too beat up, but having spent so much time with him before, I could read the exhaustion in his limbs, in the extra slump to his shoulders. What caught my attention thought, was-

"Is that cooled lava on your vest?" So it seemed Sasuke had spotted it too.

Kakashi paused, holding out the bottom of his vest at a length from his body, inspecting what was most certainly a clump of cool lava attached to the hem.

"Maa, the new Mizukage is pretty dangerous."

At my panicked look, Kakashi rubbed at the back of his head, "the delegation from Mist fought for the Leaf, no need to panic Naruto-chan."

As if summoned by thought, Mei Terumi appeared in a swirl of lava, the boiling substance dropping to the ground and hissing as it began eating through the rock. Now that was an even more impressive body flicker than Haku's ice sparkles.

Beside me, Sasuke started at the sight of the woman, taking in her appearance only for a blush to cross his face as it hit home just how low cut the blue battle dress was.

"I came to say goodbye Naruto-chan. My delegation and I will be checking out with Jiraiya, and we will send what aid we can." She paused, her eyes drifting over to Sasuke for a second, then to Kakashi as she sighed dreamily. "I wish I'd had such a pretty team when I was a Genin."

She then proceeded to pinch Kakashi's cheek -and not the one's on his face- before she once again disappeared in a whirl of lava. The three of us were silent for a second, the only sound being the fizzle of melting rock, the smell acidic.

"That was the new Mizukage," Sasuke finally deadpanned, looking over at Kakashi, who was rubbing his rump, his visible ear burning red.

"Maa, correct Sasuke. The few Mist ninja that were present aided us, along with the Mizukage herself, as you can see. Our alliance with Sand has burnt, but now we have one with Mist. Despite out delicate position, I assume others will be hesitant to invade knowing they have our backs."

"Speaking our alliance Kakashi-sensei, Gaara said something about the Kazekage being an imposture. We should look into that before the council makes any rash decisions."

Sasuke nodded.

"He did say something to do with gold dust, or an absence of it, or something."

Kakashi's face had hardened, coal dark eyes scanning the landscape around us, as if expecting the cause of his worries to leap out at him.

"I see. I want you two to stick with me until I say otherwise. Accept no other orders unless they come from my mouth."

"What about the Hokage?"

Kakashi froze in place at Sasuke's question, jaw clenching. I already had a feeling I knew what he was going to say, but it was still a punch to the stomach when it was confirmed.

"The Hokage is dead."


	9. Dawn of a New Danger

Recovery from invasion was slow. I'd never seen the village in such a state before, but it was true. A good portion of my home had been destroyed, many ninja, more than I cared to find out, had died. Including the Third.

I hadn't realized how close I was to the man until he was suddenly not there. He'd been Naruto's grandfather figure, and though he hadn't quite filled that role for me, I still held a lot of respect for him. Might have even loved him in my own way. And now he was gone.

I'd been the one to hold Konohamaru when he found out, curled up in the Hokage's office with his snort dripping nose pressed into my collarbone and tears staining my own cheeks. Asuma, upon being informed, had walked from the room without a word. The rest of Team Seven -we'd picked Kiba and Jiraiya up along the way to the Hokage Tower- were gathered around us, looking very, very awkward.

It wasn't until Shisui had burst into the room, frantic, that Sasuke had shown any emotion of his own, all but throwing himself at the older Uchiha and refusing to let go until he was sure it really was Shisui. The two Uchiha had then proceeded to join me on the floor, becoming one big ball of emotion, curled up in the centre of the room.

It wasn't until Shisui had stiffed that I realized we were no longer alone, that Danzō had shown up. I'd never seen Shisui so tense, and I knew instantly that there was more history between the two than I'd first expected. Jiraiya had given Kakashi orders to not let myself or the two Uchiha's out of his sight, and while Shisui had grimaced at the command, he'd come along willingly. It wouldn't be the first time someone had tried kidnapping a bloodline user while the village was weakened. So we'd all ended up retreating to my house, using it as a base for the next few days.

 

Inhaling another mouthful of noodles, I looked across the table at Sasuke, who was picking at his own meal.

"What's up Sasuke?" Placing the chopsticks down, the dark haired boy sat back in his seat, eyes dropping slightly to stare down at his almost full plate.

"I just feel like I could have done more, that I should have done more."

"Sasuke. We're Genin. We can only do so much, everyone starts somewhere. Kakashi gave us orders, and we followed them. We stopped academy students from being attacked. I can't imagine wanting to be somewhere else and allowing that to happen."

The Uchiha grunted, but nodded his head, conceding to my point.

Twirling the noodles about on the end of my chopsticks, I looked back up at the Uchiha opposite me, chewing on my lip as I thought. Not once had he called upon the power of the curse seal since he'd received it. He'd developed as a person, far past the moody child that'd been introduced to team seven alongside the incredible bundle of noise that'd been Kiba. They'd both matured so much.

I wonder if I had done the same, if had changed, began interacting with them differently. I know I'd opened up to them a bit more as time had gone on. I wasn't as scare to approach them, to elbow them in the ribs whenever I was teasing them, to hug them whenever they'd worried me. Or if we weren't going to be seeing each other for a while. I'd hugged Kiba earlier today when he'd skipped out of my house, heading to the Inuzuka compound to run some chores for his mother.

Jiraiya had stopped by the day before, telling me that he'd be dragging me across the country to find Tsunade and that I was to pack everything I'd need up. Only, it didn't seem right going without Sasuke. Not when he still had that seal on his neck. Not when we could possibly do something about it. So I'd nagged at the man, until he'd caved and agreed to take Sasuke along with us, muttering that it'd probably be for the best anyway. What he meant by that, I had no idea. But I'd find out, that much was obvious.

As long as Jiraiya wasn't trying to bully Sasuke into something the dark haired boy didn't want to do, I didn't care.

"When were you going to tell us you had nightmares."

I dropped the noodles I'd been holding up.

Sasuke was staring at me with dark eyes, having finally decided he was not hungry and pushed his plate away to the edge of the table. Slowly placing my chopsticks on the edge of the bowl, I laid one elbow on the table, cradling my head in my hand.

"How long have you known?"

"I recognised one of your seals was for stillness and silence, the one on your right arm three nights ago. When I turned it off, you started screaming and thrashing in your sleep."

Looking away, I clenched my hands and tried not to scream at the boy. That was a brutal invasion of privacy, completely brutal. Not even Kakashi knew I had nightmares anymore, he thought I'd gotten over it, that I could forget the feeling of a blade tearing through my skin, puncturing my lung. Sure I'd gone through conditioning to break me of my fear, so that I'd be able to take a hit and not attempt to dodge, only to find myself getting hit with a worse blow. A possible killing blow.

Sasuke was frowning a bit deeper now, arms still folded across his chest as he looked over the table at me.

"That's such a violation of my privacy I don't even know where to start." Dragging my fingertips across the length of my right eye, I looked away from Sasuke, unable to meet his gaze. The scent of my ramen broth curled around in the air, and after a pause, I once again picked up my chopsticks and went about capturing another mouthful.

"Do we really have to do this here?"

"Unless you'd like to tell the rest of the team?"

Grimacing, I chewed extra hard on the food in my mouth, hoping Sasuke would understand I'd rather be snapping his neck than the chopsticks in my hand. Setting aside the broken pieces of wood, I interlaced my fingers together, using them to nest my chin as I stared at the boy.

"I can still feel the blade passing through my back whenever I go to sleep. I can still see your senbon riddled body dying on the bridge. I still see Orochimaru beating both you and Kiba senseless, but it doesn't stop until he's killed you in my mind. If I don't keep that seal on, then I wake everyone up with my screaming. It doesn't happen every night, and there's no such thing as a bad night's sleep for me, Kyūbi heals my body up perfectly. It doesn't affect my work, so I don't see the need to talk about it."

Sasuke was quiet, the waitress rushing over and removing our food from the table, leaving us with the bill. Before I could reach for my wallet, Sasuke had already put down the requested amount of money, along with a little tip as well.

"Sasuke-"

"Consider it my apology for not noticing your sorry state sooner," he whispered, standing up and pocketing his hands, waiting for me to join him. With a sigh, I too slid out form the booth seat, running my fingers down the worn leather as I went.

"I take it you won't accept no for an answer?"

"Not at all." He cared. Whatever exterior, whatever mask he put forwards, I couldn't argue the fact that Sasuke cared.

It left my stomach feeling warm and I stepped forwards, catching him in a hug, my arms wrapped around his waist and my face pressed into his shoulder. Sasuke barely even paused before his arms wrapped around my shoulders, cheek resting atop my skull.

"Thanks Sasuke."

"Ooh-ho! Am I ruining a moment?"

Breaking away from Sasuke, I smacked Jiraiya across the side of his face, staring down at my hand in fascination as I did so. I'd not even thought about it before I slapped him. Was this how females normally reacted to Jiraiya? Was it an inborn response that I'd been suppressing up until now?

"Naw, and you were doing so well 'Ruto. Well brats, I hope you've got your stuff together, we're heading out."

I could feel the questions exploding in Sasuke's head, even more so when I dug a small scroll out of my hip pouch and threw it towards him.

"What's this?"

"Your stuff," I answered, pulling out two bobbles and snapping one side of my hair up into its custom pigtail, the other following not a few seconds after, "seeing as Jiraiya-sensei wants us for a mission I took the liberty of packing you up."

"Ooh? Giving the boy no warning?" Jiraiya slid over to Sasuke's side, throwing one massive arm over his shoulders and stage whispering, "watch out, or she'll trap you in a relationship before you know it."

Kicking the man in the shin, I scowled, doing my best to ignore the giggling waitresses that were scuttling about behind us.

"Let's just start the mission, okay?" The white haired Sannin let out a victorious laugh, snatching up both up in his giant arms and sprinting off.

 

Walking out the gates of Konoha, I unzipped my jacket, cocking my head back to enjoy the mid August heat. It was a beautiful day, the summer sun of Fire Country just that much hotter than any other nation. In my past life I'd lived in rainy old England, so I had always had an appreciation for the warmth of the sun. Now I could almost worship it, living in such a warm country was pure bliss, and I would not be told otherwise.

"So what mission are we going on? And why aren't Kiba and Kakashi coming?" Sasuke, walking with both hands in his pocket and occasionally rolling his shoulders -probably noting how good I had it, storing all my stuff in scrolls really negated the backpack business- turned his head to look at Jiraiya, eyebrow raised. My favourite Fūinjutsu teacher just scoffed, turning to look at me and shaking his head in mock disappointment.

"You really didn't tell him anything, did you?"

"Nope."

"We're going to find a woman called Tsunade, the elder's want her for Hokage."

Snorting, I rolled my eyes, offering the Sage a glare.

"No, you want her for Hokage. Because otherwise they'd stick the hat on your head."

Jiraiya grimaced, even more so when I leapt up onto his back, scrambling onto his head and henging into the Hokage hat in question. Jiraiya ripped me off like I burned.

"No thank you!" Forming a cross with his arms, Jiraiya pouted when I sat, forced from my transformed state, clutching at my stomach and laughing at him. Even Sasuke was chuckling, the noise muffled by the fact he'd tried to press his lips together in order to suffocate the sound. Unable to stop the snickers that were continuously escaping from my lips, I forced myself to get up, dusting the dirt from my backside before scampering after the two males that'd clearly been quite ready to leave me behind.

"So, where are we heading first?"

Jiraiya cuffed me over the head, but nevertheless went on to explain that we would be visiting a small town nearby, where we'd pause to sleep the night in the hotel, and then continue onwards for our search with Tsunade.

"The brat nagged me to take another look at that seal Uchiha, so we'll be doing that while we're on the move. But otherwise, I've got some jutsus to teach the two of you." At that, Sasuke perked up. Obviously he'd heard of Jiraiya before, he was a legendary Sannin, there were history lessons on some of the battles he'd participated in.

"Jutsus?"

"Yep, my primary element is fire, so I've got a selection for the pyromaniac among us, and as for you Naruto, I was thinking I'd teach you the wild lion's mane technique. It'll only work if you've got long hair though, so don't go cutting those beautiful locks."

Reaching a hand up to pat at one of the tails of hair in question, I couldn't fight the grin that spread across my face.

"Sounds cool; I don't know what you got about the curse seal, but from what I've managed to piece together, the First Tier is all about manipulation the mind, chipping away at the users willpower until it makes the user rely on the seal. The Second Tier was tied to natural chakra or something, and the Third had a huge chunk of Orochimaru's chakra in it... Jiraiya-sensei?"

The toad sage had just stopped in the middle of the road, his eyes having popped open and was now staring at the two of us, a look of dawning realization slowly breaking across his face.

"What did you just say Naruto?"

"Erm, there's some of Orochimaru's cha-"

"Not that bit. About the natural energy. Natural energy, of course! I never even considered it, but the energy levels all add up, it explains the focus on three when five is usually a better seal number, balancing three chakras..."

Sasuke and I shuffled a little closer to one another, staring at the Sannin with wide eyes. He seemed to be having some kind of break through, a brain wave or something.

"But I still can't remove Orochimaru's chakra in the Third Tier."

"Do you need to? Can't you just convert the Third Tier to a repression seal for the chakra, kinda like my seal is? Or twist it so that it eats Orochimaru's chakra away?"

Jiraiya shook his head, actually sitting himself down in the dirt and pulling out a small notebook to scribble down all our ideas on.

Hesitantly, Sasuke and I shuffled a bit closer to the man, both of us attempting to peek at the pages of hastily scribbled words. I politely ignored the doodled breasts in the upper right corner.

"Can't do that, it'll start eating Uchiha's chakra once it's done with Orochimaru's, but sealing it up? Yeah, I can do that. Same with the First Tier. But how to deal with the Third Tier?" Jiraiya scratched at his head, glancing at Sasuke with a contemplating expression twisting at his lips. Tapping at the corner of his jaw line the man frowned, just as inspiration struck my brain.

"Do you need to? I mean, the toads told me you fight with natural energy, right? Couldn't you just fix it so that it makes it easier for Sasuke to draw on the stuff? Like, he can learn to harness it without the taint of the curse seal if we just turn it into a normal seal?"

Jiraiya made a startled noise the back of his throat, pencil moving faster than before. Sasuke, clearly quite lost until this point, perked up upon hearing words he understood. That he could harness this power without taint. Even if it sounded like there was a lot of training involved.

"The toads won't accept another summoned so soon, but if I can get Anko-chan to hand over the snake contract -hmm, we'll have to fix her seal too if this works out-, well, I'll still need to keep it sealed until he can balance natural energy efficiently, otherwise he'll end up a stone statue."

"I can wait!" Sasuke hastily threw in at that, looking a bit wide eyed and confused. Probably wondering how this natural energy went about turning someone into a statue.

Jiraiya shot to his feet, pocketing his book, but I could tell there were at least six different ideas chasing after their own tails inside his head.

Throwing my arm across Sasuke's shoulders, I grinned.

"Let me tell you how we're gonna take that sucker on your neck and turn it into a seal that can draw on the energy around us. No drawbacks, just a hell of a lot of training required."

Slowly nodding, and sending Jiraiya a cautious look, Sasuke allowed me to start explaining.

 

We walked down the dirt path that lead out of Konoha, following crudely made signs that only Jiraiya seemed to be able to read. That or he was just pretending to understand the chicken scratch, I wasn't sure.

Twisting my fingers back and forth through the hand seals of the jutsu Jiraiya was teaching me, I saw Sasuke doing the same, only with the fire jutsu he'd been gifted, out of the corner of my eye. This was, pleasant. Even missing Kakashi and Kiba, it was still nice. Just Jiraiya, Sasuke and I, calmly traversing the countryside, looking for a gambling addict.

I'd been a bit worried a first, figuring that Sasuke might be a little upset to see that I was learning from a Sannin. But Jiraiya seemed to be happy enough teaching him too.

Pausing, I recalled the picture of Team Jiraiya I'd seen the archives. My father's childish face had stared out at my from the paper and ink, but instead I'd focused on the other two. I had no idea what happened to my father's teammates, but I doubted they were alive. I'd like to think they'd have at least come to take a look at me if they were. But I was pretty sure why the female wasn't alive. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and the Uchiha complexion.

Maybe training both myself and Sasuke brought back memories for Jiraiya, even if we were the wrong gender. It had to be painful too, to drag up those memories of people long dead now. It had to be awful knowing you'd not only outlived your entire Genin team, and that you were actually teaching the younger relatives of those students too.

Jiraiya never let it show though, instead flipping through page after page of his little notebook, scribbling down equations and sketching up different seals. He even ignored a reasonably pretty, curvaceous woman that was walking in the opposite direction, which showed just how much he was focused on what he was doing.

"When do we get to practice these jutsus?" I asked, mainly because I could see Sasuke wanted to know the exact same thing, considering he was getting so fast at running through the handseals.

Snorting, Jiraiya didn't even glance at us, scribbling something out and adjusting whatever information he'd just deleted.

"Not until we pass through the next town brat. I will not be billed for property damage. The Leaf's got enough problems as it is without me getting tied up for monetary debts."

"There's an emergency coffer back at the Leaf Village that I set aside in case we ever had mass property damage, I set it up with some of the money that comes in from my business. It's not a lot, but it should be enough to kick start rebuilding," I murmured, running a hand through my hair.

The Third's death weighed heavily on my shoulders. I could have done more, probably should have done more. But without the Third, Orochimaru would still be able to use jutsus. I really, really didn't like those kinds of odds. I'd warned the village about the invasion via note, and precautions had been taken. But, but it would still never be enough. It'd been a ruthless decision, but I'd done what I could to make sure we'd have a chance to beat Orochimaru in the future. Letting the Sannin off, risking the Sannin being able to use jutsu was too big of a variable. It'd didn't stop me from feeling sick at the thought though.

A hand on my shoulders drew my attention and I looked over at Sasuke, who'd finally stopped running through his handseals and had clearly been trying to gather my attention for a few minutes if the exasperated expression on his face was any indication.

"You and the Hyūga created some kind of jutsu, didn't you?"

Nodding, I stopping running through my own seals, already knowing what was coming.

"You want me to teach it to you?"

Sasuke nodded, not quite frowning but not quite smiling either. Somewhere between, like he was stuck between two emotions and wasn't sure which to show.

"How did you make the jutsu?" Well, he was the first to ask that question.

Scratching nervously at the back of my head, I threw about several different explanations in my head, trying to mash them together until they'd make sense.

"It didn't really start out as a jutsu, it was just suppose to be a chakra control exercise. You know those roller skates that the civilian kids wear?" Another invention I'd come up with and churned out via shadow clone sweatshop. At Sasuke's nod, I continued, "it's kinda like that, but one big, oval shaped wheel instead, like if you'd stood on a ball it kinda caves to your weight? That kinda shape, and just rolling your chakra to propel you forwards. Trust me, there were a lot of explosions when we were first trying that out. We had to get Kakashi-sensei to fix the training ground with an earth jutsu we blew that many holes in the floor."

Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes before they blazed Sharingan red.

"Show me?" Sasuke knew it was a chakra exercise, much like tree walking was. But he'd still be able to see how the chakra should perform, and that'd be more than enough to get him started.

Focusing my internal energy, I skated forwards, twisting around the duo, going so far as to lift one leg up and stick it behind me as I glided backwards, much like a figure skater. All the while Sasuke's brilliant red eyes followed after me, eyebrows furrowed and focused on my feet.

Circling the boy one last time, I cut off my chakra and casually returned to walking. He'd quickly figure out this took a significant amount of control, more so than water walking needed. I'd made it look easy, considering I'd spent hundreds of hours perfecting how to use this technique. Just as Neji had. No doubt he would eventually end up teaching it to his teammates, so it was only fair I passed it on to mine. We shouldn't hold such a good technique so close to our chests. It had the potential to help every other Leaf Nin. I'd have to talk to Neji about spreading it around when we got back.

"What the hell?!"

The sound of earth forcibly compacting beneath Sasuke's feet had me grinning like mad, completely unable to suppress it. That'd been my seventh mistake when creating the technique. At least Sasuke had avoided carving troughs into the earth like I had the first time I'd attempted to use the glide technique. If he'd been any less composed, I was sure Neji would have laughed himself silly.

Jiraiya was clearly amused by the sound of our antics, if the little smirk on his face was anything to go by, nose still buried in his notebook.

Leaping onto the Sannin's back to get a better look at the seal the man was working on, I felt my face drop upon seeing the design. Or should I say, lack of a design. Because there was instead a naked woman sketched out on the page.

"Don't scowl brat, I've got the suppression of the First Tier done, we can apply it once we get to the hotel."

Eyes narrowed, I slowly let myself down off of Jiraiya's back, instead turning my attention back to helping Sasuke. Clearly our teacher was going to be out of it for a while if his giggling was any indication.

 

We arrived at the town just as the sun was setting in the west. Jiraiya had thrown a helping of money at the both of us, sending us off towards the little festival stalls that were selling all kinds of food, running off to who knows where. I had an idea, but I didn't really want to voice it aloud. Sasuke was still thinking the best of Jiraiya, and I'd rather not give the boy any warning before the Sannin was exposed for what he actually was. I wanted to see the respect Sasuke had for the man drain from his face.

Especially when he leant that it was Jiraiya who wrote Kakashi's favourite book.

Smirking to myself, I grabbed a hold of Sasuke's shirt at the hem, dragging him further into the town. The boy grumbled, but his eyes were flashing across the stalls, searching out the best food that was on offer. The two of us stopped by a stall selling meat skewers, which allowed us to pick out our choice of own food to roast on the stick. I went with beef, carrots and potato cubes, and to my upmost surprise -not- Sasuke went for chicken and tomato slices. Walking down the streets I couldn't help but marvel at the feel of the festival. There'd been nothing like this back home, both in my old life and in Konoha. Maybe because just as we'd finally recovered from the Kyūbi attack, Sound and Sand had invaded and ruined all the recovery we'd just gotten through.

Grimacing at the thought, I took another bite of my kebab. Maybe I could use some of the money brought it by my little business to throw Konoha a festival a little later? When the dead were buried, the buildings remade, it'd do well to pick everyone's mood up out of the slump we'd all found ourselves in.

I'd have to discuss it with Tsunade, should she end up taking the hat. I wasn't Naruto, I didn't have his charisma, but I still had to try and get her back to the village. No was not an acceptable option when everything else was taken into account. That much was clear.

"Do we have a specific hotel to stay at?"

Thrown from my thoughts by Sasuke's voice, I twirled a strand of hair around the fingers of my free hand, nibbling at a slice of carrot as I did so.

"I don't think so, Jiraiya-sensei should be able to feel out our chakra signatures and find us that way, if not," I shrugged, "he's a Sannin. He'll find us eventually."

"How did you end up with a Sannin as a sensei anyway?"

"He's my godfather."

Sasuke blinked. His eyes narrowed, lips tightened before he suspired.

"Of course he is."

Chewing on my bottom lip, I weighed up the pros and the cons, wondering if I should tell the Uchiha or not. The Third had figured I was mature enough to decide if I wanted to tell the entire world about my parentage, I doubt he'd have cared too much if I told Sasuke, who had managed to keep my Jinchuriki status secret until I'd actually had to blow the lid on that one.

"He taught my Tou-san, hell, I was named after the main character in his first book, you've probably seen me reading it before today? Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi?"

Sasuke nodded, finishing off the last of his kebab.

"You know who're parents are, you aren't just a no named orphan like all the others think." By others, I assume he meant the rest of the Rookies. The Uzumaki clan name had kinda sunk into the background, considering I was the only Uzumaki in Konoha and everyone kinda wanted to forget I existed most of the time.

"Yeah, it's another S-rank secret, so don't go around telling anyone. Kumo tried kidnapping my mum when she was just a bit younger than me, because the Uzumaki clan were known for their longevity, making us perfect hosts for the Bijū." Somewhere in the back of my mind, Kyūbi growled, low and threatening and I mentally winced.

' _I'm sorry, but it's true. It's not like I'd particularly fond of that fact either._ ' A snort followed that thought, and I could almost feel Kurama nestling about in the back of my head, as if making himself comfortable once more to resume his nap.

"She died not long after giving birth to me, and my father died sealing a fox in my stomach."

"The Fourth Hokage," Sasuke lurched back as he spoke, disbelief wrote across his features before he paused, seemingly running the information back through his head, plucking out any and all relevant pieces that could certify or deny my statement. My facial features, my colouring, the seal knowledge, the Fourth Hokage's most famous student taking me on has his own, Jiraiya being my godfather. Once you had all the pieces, it all clicked into place really. It was only because the rest of the village did not want to think about such an idea, that the Jinchuriki was the child of their hero.

"He couldn't really ask for anyone else's kid, not when he wasn't willing to damn his own."

"Tch, you're not damned. It's just a power boost with its drawbacks. You've got that healing thing from it, haven't you?"

My lips tilted upwards and I walked a little bit closer to Sasuke. No matter how many times I heard it, from Sakura, from Neji, from Kiba and from Sasuke, it still always made me feel warm knowing they didn't judge me for the seal on my skin, not like the rest of the villagers did. It was nice. Nice to know that when push came to shove, I'd always have them to rely on. That they'd be there to help me out and it would be because they wanted to help me, not the Kyūbi Jinchuriki.

"How about that hotel?" Pointing to the building in question, I watched as Sasuke effortlessly adjusted his momentum, spinning around to head in the direction I'd gestured to. Yes. I liked this Sasuke far more than the one I'd read about all those years ago.

 

We booked ourselves into a room that'd house three people, neither of us paying much attention to the price. That'd be Jiraiya's problem considering that the hotel had been his idea. With a smooth flick of my hand, the storage scroll unrolled, a long tail of paper covered in storage seals. Nipping my thumb, I coaxed a bead of blood free of the skin and unsealed my backpack, full of everything I could need for the night.

Across the room, Sasuke copied me, movements flawless enough that it was difficult to tell he'd never actually used a storage scroll in such a way before. He looked at the pack I'd brought for him, frowning as he did so.

"You haven't forgotten anything essential, have you?"

Snorting, I rolled my eyes, turning back to my own pack and pulling out my usually sleeping clothes. The large shirt was one of the cheap tee-shirts that was usually found on the clearance rails.

The ninja supplies shop were either run by civilians or retired ninja, and they made it easy to tell who had ordered in what stock. The retired ninja would always go for muted colours, or just the traditional Chũnin or ANBU uniform. The civilians on the other hand, they preferred things little more colourful. Hence why the shirt I pulled out was a sleeveless white with red flame like pattern. I'd seen it on the clearance and instantly been reminded of the Fourth's coat, and while it was too big for me to actually wear, it was perfect for sleeping in.

Picking up a usual pair of panties along with the shirt, I escaped into the bathroom to change into my sleeping gear, stripping myself of the usual orange jacket, cropped black top and the matching three quarter tight trousers. The sandals and bandages were the next to come off, leaving me in just my underwear.

Twisting to get a better look at myself in the mirror, I let out a low sigh, one hand running down the smooth plane of my stomach. This body was very in shape, but I was very much looking forwards regaining my womanly curves. I wasn't sure if I wanted a bust as big as the one I'd had in my old life. I'd been blessed with very generous curves in that life there, but looking at the image of Uzumaki Kushina, I didn't think I'd be going the same way this time. Probably somewhere around average. My mother's curves had been visible, but not eye popping like Tsunade's. And that was okay, I can't imagine fighting with a bust that big. I have no idea how Tsunade does it, and I don't think I want to find out.

Turning, I looked over my shoulder, tracing the very light, almost unnoticeable scar where I'd been impaled by an Iwa shinobi. Phantom pain raced through my body but I pushed it back, instead focusing on small patch of puckered skin that rested just below the strap of my bra. It still made me uncomfortable looking at it now, and I doubted it was something I'd get past until I had my next near death experience. And there would be a next one, that much was obvious.

"Naruto?"

At Sasuke's call, I quickly shimmied out of the rest of the material clothing my body, throwing on the pants and large tee-shirt. There was no point in me wearing a bra in my sleep, they were uncomfortable and dug in at all the wrong places, I'd avoid it while I still could. The tee-shirt was large enough to cover anything and I wasn't developed enough for my breasts to draw any attention in it. I gathered my rumpled clothing up and made my way back out the bathroom.

Sasuke hadn't changed yet, leaning back against one of the walls of the room, still in his usual clothes, one leg stretched before him and the other supporting the arm holding up his head.

"That seal you used to break the building during the invasion, can you make me one?"

Sealing up the clothes I'd been using, I pulled my paintbrush out of my pack along with a bottle of ink, gesturing for Sasuke to come and sit beside me instead of answering verbally. The boy did so without any resistance on his part, sitting himself down and pulling off the arm warmers that usually shielded his forearms.

Instead of putting brush to skin right away though, I placed one finger against the back of his wrist, sending out a pulse of chakra into the limb like Neji had taught me to do so long ago. It wasn't aiming to close a tenketsu point, instead to just get a feeling for how good the flow of chakra was around that specific area. Sasuke twitched slightly at the feeling, but nevertheless remained still.

"Send some chakra to the point where my finger is, exactly to that point." The energy welled up under my finger just as requested and I let go of the limb, unscrewing the cap from my ink bottle.

"That's where I'm going to put the seal, it's only good for one super punch, so whenever you use it in battle you'll have to make it count, because it takes a steady ten minute stream of chakra to refill the seal with enough power required. Jiraiya-sensei told me that the original technique that this is based off doesn't require that much chakra, that it's all about control. But we're using a seal to negotiate a lack of control, and because of that the chakra cost is higher, you with me so far?"

Sasuke nodded, clenching and unclenching his hand as he did so. No doubt to rid himself of the foreign chakra now in his system.

"Great, I can only put one on each arm, and it'd be best if you only had one on your dominant arm until you've gotten used to using it, that's what I did. Got all that?"

"Yes, get on with it." Cuffing him around the head, I shook my own at the blatant impatience, not missing the grin on Sasuke's face as I dipped my paintbrush into the ink.

"Stay still, wouldn't want me to blow your arm off, nee?"

 

Ten minutes after completing the seal, I came back over from where I'd been getting my bed ready for the night, inspecting my work. Sasuke had been steadily filling the seal with his chakra just like I'd asked him to. As his reserves would increase it'd seem like less of a drain, but right now, it required about a twentieth of his full chakra capacity.

I didn't even need to ask to get him to hold his arm out, taking the limb in a light grip and running my fingers over the dried pattern, assessing it with fingers coated in a very light layer of chakra. The Fūinjutsu gloves were only for unknown seals, since this was one of my own I knew it like the back of my hand. There was no danger of me setting off some unknown component.

"So it's ready to use?" Sasuke asked when I let go, Sharingan bleeding into his onyx eyes so he could memorize the design.

"Yep." Jogging back over to my bed, I dropped onto the fluffy mattress, immensely glad I'd picked a hotel with real beds, and not the kind that sat on the floor without a mattress.

Then, in a softer voice than I'd have thought Sasuke possible, the boy asked, "will the two of you really be able to get this seal off?" I knew what seal he was referring to right away, it was blindingly obvious after all.

"I doubt we'll ever be able to really get it off," I murmured, the truth tasting like ash in my mouth, "but twist it until it's something completely different? That we can do. Jiraiya's right about being able to seal off Orochimaru's chakra and the influence, they didn't do that to begin with because they didn't know what the other component is. But now that he's sure it's natural energy, it's only a matter of time until it's sorted."

"And what is natural energy? You said Jiraiya fights with it, but you never expanded on it."

"Oh." Scratching sheepishly at my cheek, I burrowed deeper into the duvet atop my bed, only my head peeking out from the little cocoon. "Well, you know chakra is made up of physical and mental energy, right? Well, Sage Mode is where you take the natural energy around you and balance it with the two.. Erm, it's kinda like an awakened state, the best way I can describe it is that it increases the potency of your chakra from what I understand. Attacks hit harder, and I'm sure there's katas specifically for Sage Mode as well. It'll take a while to get it though, when I asked the toads they said the body isn't ready to use that kind of energy in battle until fifteen or sixteen, something about chakra networks and stuff. The medical bit was kinda lost on me. But Jiraiya-sensei is the only Sage around at the moment as far as he's aware, so if anyone can help you with it, he can."

Blinking, I looked over at Sasuke, who was staring down at his hands before a calm smirk made its way across his face.

"That sounds good. No taint from the seal, instead just making it aid me." The Uchiha closed his head, leaning his head back against the wall. He had the posture that said everything was finally coming together and my stomach squirmed slightly.

I would have to start subtly pushing Shisui towards telling Sasuke the actual reason behind the Uchiha massacre, otherwise we were going to have a problem on our hands. Of course, I had to make it seem like I had no knowledge on the subject, and with Shisui, that could be tricky. Not that I needed a solution right away after all, I still had several years until Sasuke would be strong enough to actually go chasing his vengeance.

But I was hopeful. The more I spoke with him, the more time I spent around him, the more it seemed like he was going to stay in Konoha. Things were looking up.

A knock at the door broke me from my thoughts and I turned to the window, noting the stars and moon that hung in the sky. It seemed that Jiraiya had finally come crawling back.

"I've got it," I grumbled, forcibly removing myself from my toasty warm nest and plodding across the room, wooden floorboards far too cold against the soles of my feet. Sasuke seemed quite determined to fall asleep sat up against the wall from the looks of it, evidentially he had no will to go and answer the door.

When I opened the threshold, I was glad that was the case.

 

Two red eyes stared down at me, barely visible from my height with that large dark collar in the way. I knew instantly who it was, and panic surged through my veins. This wasn't supposed to happen yet, it'd still been daytime when Itachi and Kisame had first come calling on Naruto in the manga, why the hell were they both stood outside of our hotel room in the middle of the night? In fact, where the hell was Jiraiya? This was kind of important.

The slash through the leaf headband made me cringe internally, especially since I knew the man wearing it would be the last person to turn missing nin had he a choice.

"Could this child really be the Nine Tails?"

My head snapped up and over to look at the other figure and I grit my teeth, nails pressing into my palms sharp enough to draw blood. Kisame had spoken quietly enough that Sasuke wouldn't have heard him, but he'd also have expected to hear Jiraiya's boisterous voice by now. It was damn lucky that there was a corner to round before the room opened up from the doorway, because I had no doubt that Sasuke would not be this peaceful if he knew who was actually at the door.

"Naruto-chan, we would like you to come with us." Itachi's voice was smooth, dark and completely emotionless. It also happened to be one of those perfectly recognisable voices that you could pick out in a crowd from three hundred feet away. I could hear Sasuke stop breathing and knew instantly that I'd lost all hope of him not getting involved.

"And if I refuse?" I asked, clenching my fists. I didn't have my weapons pouch on me, nor the seals that usually sat in my trouser pockets. All I had were the seals etched onto my skin, and I could see both Akatsuki member's eyeing my arms curiously. The kind of detached curiosity that a predator showed, as if the prey's coat was a colour they'd never seen before, and they'd take a moment to appreciate such a variation before they ate it up all the same. I was never sleeping without my weapons pouch again.

"Come out of the room." That was it. The first time Sasuke might have mistaken his voice for a hallucination, but twice?

Sasuke didn't even hesitate, the soft sounds of his footfalls echoing behind me. Itachi's eyes never even left my face while Kisame let out a low whistle.

"Tch, look, the brat's got a friend. Hey Itachi-san, he kinda looks a little like you."

Behind me, Sasuke's breathing hitched, I could almost feel him trembling with anger behind me, it was as close to pure rage as I'd ever felt, and it was pouring off his form.

Somewhere in my mind, the Kyūbi stirred, assessing the situation and then stopping on the black cloaks and their red cloud design. I knew he'd been sceptical about believing me up until now, even when things I'd already told him about had come to pass. But seeing this now, the Akatsuki that had been started by Madara, one of Kurama's most hated enemies... Well, I only needed to prove myself a worthy partner now. The truth of the situation was right before our eyes.

"Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke's voice was cold, freezing cold. Colder than anything I'd felt so far in this life and the blood began seeping out from between my fingers, nails puncturing the skin just that little bit more.

"Oh, it looks like you have some history," Kisame's chuckle was dry as he hefted the sword from his back, "while you're busy with that, I'll cut off this one's leg. Don't need her running away now, do we?"

I leapt into action.

Pressing my finger against the light seal on my arm, I slammed my eyes shut, praying that Sasuke had managed to do the same. We'd ran through drills before today when it came to dealing with higher opponents, opponents more skilled than us. Had been doing so ever since Wave. Our opening play when we were all free to move was to always, always use the light seal. If I had any luck at all, Sasuke's senses wouldn't have left him and he'd remember that.

The swear from Kisame let me know that I'd gotten him, throwing myself backwards towards Sasuke. It was easy to tell the moment the light died, because my retinas stopped burning. Even behind my eyelids. A concentrated blast of sunlight, not enough to forever harm the eyes -because there was always a chance friendlies could get caught too-, but certainly enough to remove your vision for a few seconds. Ninja had an unfortunately fast recovery time after all.

"Sasuke-" I was cut off before I could even offer up our plan, because the boy was shooting forwards, lightning exploding to life around his fist and a scream of madness bursting from his throat. I didn't need to look to know what was going to happen, but I couldn't look away if I wanted to.

Itachi moved so fast I could barely keep track of it, catching Sasuke' wrist and casually flicking the Chidori into the wall of the inn. I winced. If we got out of this okay, we were so getting billed for that.

Then, Sasuke smirked. I could feel the moment he released the seal I'd put on him not ten minutes before, hear the crack of the bones in Itachi's hand, even if the older Uchiha didn't so much as twitch at the injury.

"You're in the way."

There was a sickening snap and Sasuke dropped to the ground, screaming as he automatically curled the broken limb closer to his chest. A moment passed in which Sasuke managed to get up again, but before he could do anything Itachi kicked him further into the hotel room, the younger Uchiha smashing against the back wall of our room.

A wordless cry torn through my throat as Itachi pinned Sasuke to the wall by his neck, panic surging through my entire being. Even if I knew that Itachi would never kill Sasuke, he would hurt him. If it meant Sasuke would live, then Itachi would strike where it would hurt most. The Nine Tail's chakra answered my call.

For a second, Itachi's head turned as the chakra flooded the air, and then Kisame was there with Samehada, ripping it all away from me. But it didn't matter. Kurama had covered me perfectly, giving me just enough time to gather my own chakra and perform the jutsu.

So when Itachi turned his Sharingan eyes back to his captive, it was me he was holding instead.

* * *

Sasuke had grown. The pain throbbed in his hand, the hand he wasn't using to pin his younger brother to the wall. He had no idea how Sasuke had managed to harness a concentrated charka blast like that, but the bones in his now broken hand were telling him that was exactly what had happened. It'd been localized to a point on Sasuke's wrist though, hidden behind the white material that covered his forearms. Uzumaki Naruto's arms were covered in seals, it wouldn't be too big of a jump to assume that his brother had a few as well.

Turning back to his captive, Itachi forced chakra through the pathways around his eyes, activating the Tsukuyomi. And found himself meeting wide blue eyes instead of red.

No.

He hadn't registered the fact the girl had evidentially used the body replacement technique with his own brother, at the risk of her own life, in order to save Sasuke. Appreciation raced through him; Sasuke had truly made a good friend here. He hoped his little brother knew how lucky he was. He'd found his own Shisui, that much was evident. Itachi knew, without question that even now Shisui would take a death blow for him, much like he would do the same for his older cousin.

But that didn't change the fact he'd caught Uzumaki Naruto in Tsukuyomi instead of his little brother.

 

She was a tiny little thing, made even more obvious by the too large shirt she was wearing, thin legs peeking out from under the hem. When she'd answered the door, her hair hanging free around her face and looking so very breakable, he could barely believe that she was the child of his mother's friend and the Fourth Hokage. That'd changed the second Kisame had threatened her.

That seal that'd let out a concentrated blast of light was dangerous, especially to Dōjutsu users. His vision had only just returned in time for him to pin Sasuke to the wall, he'd been relying on his other senses until then. Otherwise, had he been able to use his Sharingan, he'd have been able to recognise the chakra around the seal that Sasuke had used against him.

That she'd managed such a flawless replacement showed she had a great mastery over that particular jutsu, and he had a feeling she'd practiced it until her fingers had bled. She'd appeared so strong fighting the both of them, even if he could see in her eyes that she recognised her chances of winning were zero. That she'd used the fox's chakra to cover her own jutsu showed a quick mind; he'd underestimated her. Something he wouldn't be doing again.

His brother was beyond lucky to have received such a teammate.

And here, sprawled out in his world as she was, she looked even smaller than when she'd answered the door.

"This is Tsukuyomi," he spoke tonelessly, the very image of a god with the world at his fingertips.

Naruto raised her head, her eyes almost dead as she looked at him, and Itachi got the feeling the girl knew exactly what was coming. He did not want to torture her. But to push Sasuke harder, to push him to get stronger, he would do it. The world around them morphed. If the little Uzumaki girl was more than willing, cared enough to sacrifice herself to save Sasuke, then forcing her to watch that night would hurt her as much as it hurt his little brother. Even more so as he twisted the timeline, twisted it so that Sasuke didn't get away, so that a kunai cut into his jugular, so that a sword pressed through his tiny back and out through the front. The girl screamed at that one, and Itachi instantly knew she'd suffered a similar injury with the way one hand flew up to clutch at her own rib cage.

"Twenty Three Hours, Fifty Nine minutes to go." But just as he said it, that was where it all went wrong. His world twisted again, but this time it was not of his own doing.

And then he came face to face with the very thing that had first taught him true fear.

 

The Kyūbi no Kitsune, in all of its demonic glory, stood tall and proud, it's host curled into a small ball between its two front paws. Hot, moist breath traced every curve of Itachi's face and the Uchiha found he couldn't move, could scarcely think with the killing intent that was flooding his world. Two red eyes, far bloodier than his own, stared down at him as the landscape twisted and he was treated to the real version of events, not what he had made Sasuke see all those years ago.

The tears that ran down his face as he killed his parents, their tender acceptance of his choices. The orange mask. He cut it off as soon as he realized what was happening, the Kyūbi having twisted his own technique back on him. But it was too late.

Bright blue eyes had opened to watch the scene, and were now looking at him, flooded with tears of pain and sympathy. She knew. He had to silence her somehow, make her forget. Because he would not have Sasuke turn against Konoha, would rather not see the Uchiha name disgraced in such a way, but-

" **This one is mine,** " The Kyūbi rumbled, and Itachi felt his eyes widened when he realized the fox was speaking of the girl. That he was towering over her protectively, positioned so that if Itachi attempted to go for the host, he was find himself having to dodge nine sharp tails, two front paws and a set of vicious teeth to do so. He wouldn't manage it.

" **I don't care for people that harm what is mine.** "

And under a sudden influx of demonic chakra, his world shattered.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't understand what was happening. He'd been pinned to the wall effortlessly by Itachi. True he'd gotten one good shot in with Naruto's seal, even managed to break a bone from the sound of it, but it hadn't been enough. Itachi was toying with him.

And then suddenly he was laid out on the floor on the other side of the room. His head swirled for a second, pain thrumming through his veins as his broken arm screamed for treatment. And then another scream, an audible one, tore through the air, snapping Sasuke's head up without any conscious thought.

Naruto.

Naruto had switched out with him. He hadn't felt this helpless since the massacre. And now she was under his brother's tender mercies and she was screaming. God she was screaming and he was using that technique against her and who knows what he was making her see.

Then, Itachi flung himself away and demonic red chakra burst out of Naruto, surrounding her form as she dropped to the ground, unable to support herself. The Sannin had shown up now, putting himself between Naruto and the enemy, but Sasuke couldn't focus on anything else.

He pushed himself upwards, stumbling to Naruto's side despite the cries of protest his ribs and arm made.

What had she been thinking?! Swapping herself out against that man, putting herself in danger when Itachi was his to take down.

Falling to his knees beside her, Sasuke absentmindedly noting the odd pinkness of the floor that'd once been highly polished wood. He tried reaching for Naruto, but the red chakra snarled and burnt his skin when he attempted to take hold of her. Sasuke tore his arm back, fingers twitching at the angry red blisters that spread across the skin there, burning hot.

Then the chakra was gone, and it was just Naruto crumpled on the floor, the blue eyes that were usually so intense and focused now nothing more than a glassy sheen, tears trailing down the curves of her face. She'd bitten clean through her lower lip trying to hold that scream in and Sasuke clenched his eyes shut. She'd been hurt because he wasn't strong enough, wasn't fast enough to take Itachi down before he harmed anyone else.

Painstakingly gathering the girl up in his arms, even if his left arm and ribs were in a symphony of pain, Sasuke pressed his nose into her hair, inhaling the familiar smell of sweat, warmth and undertone of fox that was Naruto's scent.

This was why he'd not wanted to get close to anyone. Itachi had stolen everyone, everyone he cared about once before, he hadn't wanted to risk getting hurt like that again.

But Shisui survived, another part of his mind whispered and Sasuke clenched his teeth, pressed them together until his gums hurt.

Shisui had survived.

And he was stronger, he'd actually managed to injure Itachi thanks to the element of surprise, thanks to Naruto's help. Was it worth it? To risk losing more people to that man, to get strong enough to beat Itachi?

The seal on his neck tried to make a suggestion, but Sasuke pushed it away, looking back up to find it was only the Sannin in the room. Itachi and his partner had fled in the face of the Sannin. The Sannin that could teach him to harness an energy no other than he himself used. If Itachi was hesitant to tangle with Jiraiya...

Then Sasuke just needed to get him to train him too.

The man seemed happy enough to teach him alongside Naruto, could teach him to better himself and use that natural energy he'd been talking about. He'd get stronger, strong enough to take Itachi down. He wouldn't hurt anyone again. His clan would be avenged.

Clutching Naruto tighter to his chest as her eyes fell shut, he watched the exhaustion overtaking her body. Not a surprise really, he'd been in a coma for weeks after that technique, but Naruto had a demon fox that could break her out of any genjutsu. Who knew when she'd wake up.

"Kid! How's Naruto, what happened?!" Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Sasuke looked up at Naruto's godfather had began to explain.

If his voice shook a bit, then the man never mentioned it.

* * *

"You h-helped me?"

Above me, Kurama snorted, a look of revulsion crossing his features and I curled up on his paw, tiny hands clutching at the thick orange fur I found there.

I felt like I was drowning.

Watching Uchiha after Uchiha get cut down, seeing the glassy black eyes staring out from Sasuke's face-

I shuddered, pressing my face deeper into Kurama's fur and hoping that my body was radiating as much gratitude towards him as it currently was terror. I never wanted to see that again, never see my friend hurt in such a way. Never have to see him die.

My limbs trembled again as a sob escaped my throat, Kurama giving a disgusted scoff above my body.

" **Do not get your filthy human fluids in my fur.** "

Forcing myself to sit up, I remained on the fox's giant paw, fingers still tangled in the fur but my legs curled under me in order to catch whatever tears could fall. No doubt there was snot running down my face too. No wonder he didn't want me pressing my head into his glossy fur.

" **You were right though, the ningen truly regrets having to kill his family. I do not see why it affects you so much.** "

Choking, I ran the back of my hand across my eyes, a useless attempt at gathering all the tears in one place. I no doubt looked a mess. From the way Kyūbi was treating me, I couldn't believe anything else. At least he hadn't thrown me across the seal yet.

"Thank you. Thank you for st-stopping it."

" **Tch, wake up brat. Your fellow monkeys await your return.** "

 

When I opened my eyes, I was curled up on one of the mattresses in the hotel room. My internal clock told me only a handful of hours had passed, that we were easily into the early hours of the morning, but not enough for dawn to break across the sky. Inhaling, I caught both Sasuke and Jiraiya's scent, both strong. They were in the room.

Slowly sitting up, I felt my muscles twitch, not happy at all to be moving around so soon after taking such a strong genjutsu. But I forced my body up regardless, looking around the room.

The source of the snores was evident, Jiraiya's form thrown over one bed and easily dwarfing it, mouth hanging open to broadcast the noise across the room. Sasuke...

Sasuke was sat with his back ridged straight against the wall, glowing Sharingan eyes spinning in the darkness and bloodshot. Focused on me. Intensely so.

He was across the room a heartbeat, stood by my bedside and I flinched at the sudden movement. All the same, I took a moment to take in his appearance. He was in a simple pair of sleeping bottoms, shirt off and bandages wrapped around his torso. His left arm was in a sling, right hand wrapped up in more bandages and smelling distinctively of burn healing paste.

"Sasuke?" The word that left my mouth were sluggish, tumbling off my tongue with none of its usual grace, falling flat instead of dancing through the air like normal.

When it fully registered in my mind that it was Sasuke and his eyes were bloodshot and tired but oh so alive, I snatched up his good arm, forcibly pulling him onto my bed and then crawling into his lap like a child. I hadn't done that since desensitization training with Kakashi, when I had been asked to pierce by palm with a blade. I'd done it, and then proceeded to have a nervous breakdown.

The silver haired man had held me just as awkwardly as Sasuke was doing now.

My arms were tight around his upper torso, taking care not to put any pressure on the site where the bandages were wrapped around. But I held on as hard as I dared, my fingers probably digging uncomfortably into his skin.

"Naruto. Never do that again."

Pressing my face into Sasuke's neck, I knew he could feel the tears that were leaking from my eyes without permission. I knew it'd been a genjutsu, I knew it hadn't been real. But that didn't stop the terrifying thoughts running through my head, the idea that I might go to sleep and wake up to find Sasuke gone and that was unacceptable. Completely unacceptable.

"Kyūbi saved me," I whimpered, nose pressed up against the jugular vein of Sasuke's neck and feeling the reassuring thumpthumpthump of his heartbeat, of the blood pulsating through his veins. "He broken the genjutsu, he turned it back on him. Sasuke... There's something not right about it... It wasn't just him. He was crying and there was a man in a mask... Kyūbi attacked because the man in the mask made him."

Sasuke went still beneath me.

Sat on his lap, I curled a bit tighter in on myself, cried a little harder.

It hurt. Genjutsu had never effected me like this, but I'd never been put under anything that attacked me half as bad as that. The only reason I wasn't in a coma was because of Kurama. The only reason I'd not had to watch it over and over again, watching Sasuke's body hit the floor again and again, was Kurama.

' _Thank you._ '. I received no mental reply, but I knew the fox had heard me.

"What are you saying Naruto."

"I, I don't know. Kurama twisted it back on him and the images had to come from somewhere. The masked man is real, Kyūbi knows that for certain. He had a Sharingan... There's more to it. Kyūbi, he hates the masked man. More than anything else. I've never felt such hatred before."

Sasuke's good arm finally wrapped around my back, pressing me close to him.

"I'll get stronger. I'll find out the truth. I'll make Itachi pay. And if there is a masked man, he'll pay as well."

I couldn't confess Itachi's innocence, Sasuke would deny it instantly, would think Itachi had tricked me. But getting him to question events was enough right now.

Curling up closer to Sasuke, I let my tired eyes droop until they shut, already knowing I wasn't going to fall asleep without Sasuke's hearing heart beating beside my ear. His fingers pressed against my wrist, feeling the pulse there as he leaned back against the wall beside my bed, chin resting on my skull and holding tighter with his good arm.

I'd been hoping to avoid Sasuke meeting Itachi again, and the meeting hadn't gone well at all. But it could always have gone worse.

* * *

**Omake; The Reason Behind a Late Arrival!**

"For gods sakes Itachi!"

Ignoring Kisame's impatient groan, Itachi narrowed his eyes, looking between the two products he was holding in each hand. This would quite possibly be the last time he would be able to slip into Konoha in person, and he was going to make the most of it.

He had already checked up on Sasuke, seen him eating dinner with the Kyūbi Jinchuriki before Jiraiya of the Sannin had appeared to take them off elsewhere. He'd checked up on Shisui, who was housing several different civilian families, the one's that'd had their own homes destroyed in the invasion, within the Uchiha district. He didn't doubt that his friend had sensed him, knew that he'd come to make sure the Leaf was still strong.

He'd also taken the time to let Danzō know he was still alive, that his threat still stood. If a hair on Sasuke's head was harmed, every secret the Leaf had would be on all the Kage's desks the next day. Danzō seemed to have thought that Shisui was under this protection as well, and Itachi hadn't seen the need to correct the man otherwise.

Which left him with one last job.

.

Stood just a few steps away from the counter, Itachi looked mournfully between the two different chocolate bars, one with jellybeans and popping candy inside, and one with a filling known as 'Turkish delight'. He'd never tried either of them, and he desperately wanted to.

As was the case with every other new sweet that was currently in the shopping basket hanging from his arm.

But he'd not brought enough money for it all.

Although there were plenty of different candies being sold across the nations, it was obvious that Weasel-kun's Whimsies kept all the new and better sweets in their only store within Konoha.

"That's it!" Kisame snatched the basket from his arm, drawing out his own wallet and dropping the container before the startled shop assistant.

"We'll take all of that, including whatever he's got in his hands." Below his breath, Kisame muttered, "the Jinchuriki will be halfway to Iwa by the time you've finished deciding."

Face blank but smiling on the inside, Itachi handed over all the money he had on him, Kisame making up the difference as the woman packed his purchases up in a bag, handing them over and offering them a cheerful goodbye. She never even noticed the genjutsu that hid their true faces.

The second they stepped outside, Itachi registered three Jonin level signatures following them, one he knew very well.

"Great, and now we've got a tail," Kisame snarled, clearly unhappy with the situation.

Not that Itachi cared. He'd gotten all the new confectionaries he wished to try.

The tail would be easily dealt with, so he considered it worth it.

 

* * *


	10. The Medic and the Brats

When I woke up, it was to an absolute vision of beauty. Not. Jiraiya's oddly serious mug was hovering above my own, grave black eyes hardly blinking.

"Guh?" I attempted to sit up, but Sasuke's arms wrapped tighter around me, a grunt leaving the sleeping boy's mouth when his broken arm protested at the motion.

"Naruto. Are you okay?"

Blinking, I shifted about in Sasuke's grip as best as I could, wincing at the crick in my neck, the stickiness around my lips from where I'd been drooling. Digging out a clump of sleep from the corner of my eye, I looked back up at the Sannin, absentmindedly pulling the hem of my shirt down from where it'd rode up.

"I'm- well not fine, but I will be given time. That's how it works, right?"

The man frowning, dragging one large hand down the side of his face but nevertheless took a step back.

"Just make sure you talk to someone if you need it kiddo." Then he turned and began packing up. That's how I knew he was worried.

During our month long training montage, Jiraiya hadn't hesitated on teasing me about anything, from my skinny frame, to my male friends. There had even been a crack about the fox, nothing had been off limits. I hadn't cared, knowing the man didn't mean anything he said. The fact he'd not joked around about how I'd managed to seduce a Uchiha into bed with me or something like that, just proved how worried he had to be.

Yawning, and then cringing at the scent of my morning breath, I wiggled about until I was no longer sat on Sasuke but just to the side of him, having successfully removed his bad arm from where it'd been wrapped around me.

"Sasuke, wake up." Gentle tapping his cheek with one hand in a familiar motion to what Shisui usually woke everyone up with, I watched him slowly rouse, fatigue in every move he made. The back of his hair, which usually stuck up slightly, had ended up exploding outwards like a starburst from where he'd been resting his head against the wall, and coupled with his sleepy expression, he looked nothing like the Sasuke most of Konoha knew.

Pushing down the urge to tease, because in all honesty, now was not the time for that, not after last night, I slowly removed Sasuke's good arm from around my back. Shuffling about until I was sat in front of the Uchiha, I swallowed around the lump in my throat, running a finer over my swollen lip. Kurama had done a good job of healing up the puncture I'd made of it with my teeth, but it was still a bit sore. I still had a headache too, but that was better than being in a coma.

"How're the ribs Sasuke?"

Dark eyes flickered up to look at me from under thick lashes, Sasuke never raising his head to look at me. To my surprise, a slow smirk began to lazily grow across his lips, eyes brightening.

"I landed a hit." He said it like it explained why everything was right in the world. It took me a moment before I could understand what he was talking about, but when I did, a small, almost bittersweet smile began to cross my face.

"You did. But next time, don't just go throwing yourself in there without a plan. If the shark dude had gotten involved instead of just toying with us, we'd both be bloody smears on the wall."

Sasuke snorted, straightening up and wincing as the movement pulled at his ribs. He sent both his torso and the broken arm a betrayed glare. A dry chuckle from behind me let me know Jiraiya had returned, one giant hand clamping down on my shoulder.

"You're lucky we're going to look for a medic, brat. Doesn't matter about your arm right now, I don't want you using any chakra once I've adjusted that seal. Not until I can get Tsunade to check over your system and make sure it doesn't have any negative effects."

"And once that's done?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head to a side and shifting about on his seat upon the mattress.

"Once that's done, then you can get back to snuggling with my half naked goddaughter. Or training. Whatever floats your boat."

Elbowing at the thigh behind me, I got to my feet, self-consciously pulling down the tee-shirt. It was common knowledge that at some point in your life, your entire team would probably end up seeing you naked. Either by accident, or on purpose, seeing as there were some wounds that needed another person to check over, and out in the field, you couldn't get picky. Still, my cheeks pinked slightly, Sasuke's ears burning bright red as his face swiftly turned away from me.

"I think Jiraiya-sensei's just jealous, seeing as Tsunade was the medic on his team, she'd have been the one to see him undressed and not the other way around."

"Damn right brat, you'll understand when you see her." At that Jiraiya let out a wistful sigh, looking up to the ceiling as if Tsunade was an angel about to fall from the sky at his feet.

Scrunching up my nose, I picked up my pack, rooting around for a clean set of my usual ninja gear. If Tsunade was an angel, she was most likely to be an angel of vengeance, certainly not the kind that Jiraiya was imagining. Retreating into the bathroom, I flicked the shower on. Might as well enjoy the hot water while I still could.

 

I left the bathroom in time to witness Jiraiya completing the first stage of his alteration to the curse seal. Sealing off Orochimaru's chakra and the twisted intent, along with suppressing the part of the seal that was drawing in natural energy. The white haired man had left his notebook on the side of the coffee table and I calmly flipped through it, scanning the rapid squiggles and ignoring the buxom women that decorated the pages in various poses.

It appeared that Jiraiya wanted all three Tiers sealed off until we'd gotten it checked out with Tsunade, though apparently he'd summoned up a frog while I'd been unconscious at they'd agreed the seal was pulling in natural energy.

Looking at this notes, I knew I still had a while to go before I was at Jiraiya's level, no wonder I hadn't been able to get the Flying Thunder God working yet. Tracing my fingers over the pencil marks and frowning guiltily when they smudged slightly, I continued reading.

Jiraiya didn't plan on unsealing the Tier with natural energy until Sasuke had successfully signed the snake contract, and even then he would be limiting the amount of natural energy it was pulling in at any one time. Understandable.

"Jiraiya-sensei, those two yesterday, they were in a uniform of sorts, weren't they?" Both males had changed into their day clothes while I'd been in the bathroom, Sasuke still scowling down at his arm.

"Your right Naruto. I don't have much information. They are part of a group that go by the name of Akatsuki, an organisation consisting of S-ranked missing nins."

I blanched. When reading the manga, that hadn't had much of an impact on me. But now, having lived this life, it had a weight dropping into my stomach that stayed there, heavy and solid as stone.

"Their objective, I'm pretty certain, is to collect all nine Bijū."

My jaw clenched.

"So they'll be after Gaara too. We'll have to warn him soon then."

Sasuke's scowl deepened, pocketing the scroll that he'd no doubt stored his pack in.

"That just means I'll have to get strong enough to protect myself then."

 

* * *

 

 

The girl really had no idea of the effect she had on people.

Walking behind the two Genin, Jiraiya of the Sannin let his gaze linger on his goddaughter, fighting down the smile that threatened to break out across his face. When Minato had asked him to be the godfather, he'd been understandably hesitant. His spy network would not allow him to spend too much time with the kid, but the both of them had accepted that. When Naruto had been born, when he'd raced back in the aftermath of the Kyūbi attack to find his favourite student dead, to find the hot blooded Uzumaki bombshell he'd married dead, their child an orphan, Jiraiya hadn't been able to hold himself together. Hadn't been able to look at Naruto without seeing Minato in every glance, Kushina in every action.

He'd left the baby with Sarutobi-sensei and hadn't been back since. He'd sent all his reports by toad, avoiding Konoha like the plague. It wasn't until near seven years had passed since that date that he'd gotten the first letter back on Naruto. She'd graduated early, had ended up apprenticed under Hatake Kakashi. Despite not having seen the girl, not since that last night that he'd cradled her infant body to his chest and cried for Minato and Kushina, pride had surged through him. He'd gotten a report every three months, each one detailing her progress. Sarutobi-sensei had even gone out of his way to send him a copy of her Fūinjutsu work.

Before he met her, he knew the girl had talent. She thought differently about seals, about the world around her, that much was clear.

That little titbit about natural energy with the seal, he'd never had thought of it, of dreamed of putting that kind of energy into a seal. But now he knew that it was possible, it gave him a whole new world of idea to explore, that much was obvious. All from a simple observation that girl had made.

Naruto was a cheeky brat sometimes, and sometimes her eyes would take on the sheen of a ninja who'd seen too much, done too much. He'd read about her little breakdown after the Iwa incident. Her mind was a bit more fragile than most ninja, but it seemed that she could at least bounce back quickly, that it didn't interfere with her work. That was good, as long as she didn't freeze up on the battle field, then she could take all the time she wanted to work it through on her days off.

In all honesty though, that wasn't what interested him the most.

Naruto didn't seem to see it, but she had Minato's charisma. If he were truthful, Jiraiya would admit he'd expected a little female clone of Minato, just with Kushina's personality. He'd been wrong, it seemed she was Minato's daughter in everything she did. She smiled the same way, hey eyes held the same startlingly sharp intelligence, the same gleam whenever she was thinking. She even cared the same way.

He saw her eyes continuously flicker over to the Uchiha, saw the way the skin around her eyes would pinch with worry, never mind that the tightness dissolved before the Uchiha could even begin to notice. She'd taken that genjutsu for the boy; he didn't need to know what she'd seen, only that it was rather horrific from the way she'd been screaming when he arrived. Naruto was really something else. She had no idea, the effect she had on people.

The Uchiha, for one, was quite attached, seemed to view her as an equal in places, a better in others. From what Jiraiya remembered, the boy had all the female chasing after him, so to get one that wasn't had to be a nice change of pace. Tch, some guys had all the luck.

He'd seen it in the Hyūga boy as well, when he'd approached her just before the Chũnin exams, with her teammates, Kakashi, hell even the kids from Sand and Mist that she'd ended up becoming friends with.

It wasn't so much that Naruto pushed her way into their affections, it was that she slid effortlessly into your heart. The easy going, completely acceptance she had for anyone that bothered to talk to her, that was the reason why anyone who spent more than an hour in her company ended up liking the girl. She didn't blather on like a kid trying to get attention, when she spoke it was concise and to the point. It didn't matter if she was teasing or explaining a jutsu. She was calm, but it was a warm kind of calm. A peace that you just wanted to remain nearby.

Which made it difficult to see the levels of stress that did battle beneath the surface of her skin. Naruto worried, worried for her teammates, for the future. She was pushing herself to learn as much as possible, to get stronger as quickly as she could.

The news of the Akatsuki seemed to have only strengthened her resolve, and he could see that it'd done the same for the Uchiha.

The kid, despite having a broken arm, had found a way to train on their journey anyway, either with how long he could keep his Sharingan active, how long he could use that fancy chakra glide Naruto and her Hyūga friend had made. Hell, both he and Naruto had been sparring with just their feet when Jiraiya had confirmed the boy's ribs were only bruised. He was back to fighting order a week into their journey, if you discounted the arm.

The three of them had been going over jutsu and chakra theory in the hotel rooms, the two kids scheming on how to improve their jutsus, how to tweak the chakra needed or how to create sub-jutsus from one's they already knew. Not quite a new jutsu, but an expansion on ones they'd already learnt.

They just didn't stop.

The only time Jiraiya had gotten them to relax was when they'd stopped by a mixed bathhouse, considering he dared not leave Naruto alone in a separate one, his brain throwing scenario after scenario at him that all ended with Naruto being spirited away.

The girl had shown she cared little for her modesty, striding out in a wrap towel, though she'd at least had the decency to not draw attention to herself once she'd taken the towel off, hidden in the steam.

The Uchiha had gone bright red, remained that way throughout the entire experience and Jiraiya had been forced to keep himself from cackling the entire time. The kid hadn't known where to put his eyes, not daring to look his teammate in the fact, but every time he looked away his eyes would end up landing on a female form that rested beside him one way or another.

Ah puberty. He was going to enjoy the awkwardness the Uchiha would stumble through, it was always funniest with the stoic ones. Kakashi had been the same. And he would get the pleasure of viewing it.

He'd been contemplating what to do with his spy network for a while. As much as he hated to admit it, he'd flown past the life expectancy of the average ninja. He wouldn't be around forever, but his work was paramount to the village. He'd considered handing it off to Naruto, but it'd only taken one meeting in person to know that wasn't going to work. Her own natural charisma would work against her, she shone as bright as the sun. And while that made her easy to talk to, easy to approach, it wasn't the kind of person that could run a spy network.

But the Uchiha on the other hand. He was shrewd, intelligent and sharp in ways that Naruto was not. Sure the girl was a bright kind of brilliant, but the Uchiha knew what to look for, he was paranoid. Given the fact his own brother had turned on him, the boy knew exactly what to watch out for now, because he'd spent all his time since the massacre looking for it in the people that approached him.

Naruto would be the one to inherit the toads and the Fūinjutsu from him, but it'd be the Uchiha his spy network went to. His fire techniques.

They made a good team, the play-by he'd gotten of their fight with the Akatsuki had started off well; the fact they had a running protocol when it came to facing those stronger than them was a very good thing indeed. They worked well as a team.

Jiraiya had been hesitant at first about bringing the kid, knowing full well that with him hell bent of revenge he was a flight risk. But after that first day, he'd forgotten all his worries.

The kid was attached, whether he liked it or not. To Naruto, to the other Uchiha, to the rest of his team. It was obvious, even if he tried to deny it. He'd seen the boy orbiting the lot of them while they were staying in Naruto's house, saw it in the way the kid had held tight to her in his sleep.

There was very little chance of him going to Orochimaru now, not when the influence of the seal was gone, along with the promise learning to use natural energy.

He'd been considering taking Naruto out of the village for a while on a training trip, once he'd okayed it with the new Hokage that was. It looked like he'd be taking the Uchiha with him as well. No big deal. It brought back memories, painful ones, but happy at the same time. Speaking of the Hokage though...

Jiraiya's eyes glided over to look at Naruto's back, watching her say something to the Uchiha that had the boy slugging her in the arm with his good fist, the skin still a bit pink from the burns but otherwise fine.

Yeah, Naruto was his best bet at convincing Tsunade to come home. He could feel it in his bones. She'd only need a few hours, a day at most, before all that sunshine rubbed off on Tsunade and persuaded her to return home and take up the hat. Because there was no way in hell Jiraiya could run the village and his spy network, and while Tsunade could pick up the first job, there was no one for the second one. Not yet anyway.

He needed Tsunade to take up the hat, because chances were if she didn't, then Danzō would make his play for it.

And that wouldn't end well for anybody.

 

* * *

 

 

Stood on the outskirts of Tanzaku Town, I planted both hands on my hips, leaning backwards until my spine gave a satisfying crack.

Next to me, Sasuke cringed at the motion, striding forwards after Jiraiya with a determined tenseness to his shoulders. The Sannin had of course told Sasuke that we were looking for a medic nin, so he was very eager to go and get his arm sorted out in order to get back to training. I could sort of understand, while I'd never had to wait so long for an injury to heal, there had been the few times the medics had insisted I not stress my body too much after a great amount of Kyūbi healing or chakra influx. Being forced to wait around while you'd rather be training was awful.

"Wait, wasn't Tanzaku suppose to be famous for a castle of some kind?"

"Yeah, what about it kid?"

"Well, where is it?"

The Sannin blinked, eyes scanning the town that was stretched out before us. But there was no castle in sight, none at all.

Sasuke's grimaced matched my own, and I didn't need to look at Jiraiya to know he was wearing a similar expression. A villager went racing past in the opposite direction to where the castle should have been, and Jiraiya was quick to flag him down, manipulating the man until he had his explanation. A demon snake. One guess who that was.

Looking over at Sasuke, I froze.

Sasuke. The Uchiha that Orochimaru wanted. Orochimaru was right here, he could steal Sasuke away at any moment if he knew how close he was. Stepping closer to the boy and trying to not show the panic that was determined to make my limbs shake, I balled my hands into fists.

"Tch, he can't undone the work on the seal, can he?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head in my direction, eyes dark as we followed after Jiraiya's giant form.

"Not right away, he'd need to study it to find out what we'd changed. And I don't think Jiraiya-sensei would give him even a second to do that."

Nodding, we took off in a sprint, following Jiraiya as he flipped effortlessly over the high walls that surrounded the now ruined castle walls. Just beyond that, there was another wall that'd been impacted inwards, a few dots of blood speckling the floor.

Slowly kneeling down beside the blood drops, I looked pressed one finger into the liquid, rolling it between forefinger and thumb.

"It's still warm, not enough for a big wound, perhaps a small cut."

"Just a bit too late," Jiraiya grumbled, crouched down and inspecting the rubble that remained of what had surely been a once impressive wall.

"Let's go get some food," Jiraiya straightened, adjusted the giant scroll on his back and taking a sharp look at our surroundings.

Cleaning the blood from my hand with a burst of chakra, I shared a concerned look with Sasuke as we followed after him.

                                                                                                                                                                                            

"Isn't this place a pub?" Sasuke grunted under his breath, nose scrunched up in disgust. I could understand why. It wasn't the most beautiful of places, hastily made repair jobs leaving the room look like a twelve year old civilian had been the one to put it together, and then have their younger sibling complete the repairs. The scent of food that was wafting through the air wasn't too bad, it didn't smell particularly healthy, but sometimes it was nice to have a good greasy bar meal. Though I doubted Sasuke would understand that.

"Information is always found at places like this," Jiraiya mused, pushing against the leathery flap covering the top half of the entrance so it would end up smacking him in the face. Then he stopped, eyes popping open and we automatically followed his gaze.

Two young women stared back at him, eyes round. The honey blonde hair and purple diamond made it hard to not guess who it was and I let a relieved sigh escape my lips. It was pure luck, but we'd managed to find her in the end.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya strode forwards, Sasuke and I scampering after him as those long adult legs covered far more ground than we'd be able to manage with just three steps.

"Jiraiya, why are you at a place like this?"

The white haired Sannin ignored her, seating himself at the table and then shuffling up for the two of us to slide in. The dark haired woman that had to be Shizune took one look at Sasuke and gave Jiraiya a glare, but nevertheless went about healing my teammates arm.

"What happened to you?" Tsunade snapped, sharp hazel eyes focused on Sasuke. The skin of her cheeks was flushed her shirt exposing far more than I'd have personally dared to wear myself even when I was in an adult body.

"We got in a little scrap on the way here," I answered for Sasuke, who was carefully removing his tender arm from the sling so that Shizune could have a look at it. My fellow blonde's gaze cut over to look at me, eyes narrowing as she took in my features, face scrunching up at the orange jacket covering my torso. Then, she looked away, focusing on Jiraiya.

"You too, why'd you come to see me?"

"To tell you the truth, Konoha has issued a request for you to be the fifth Hokage." Both women's eyes popped open, Shizune's healing chakra stuttering to a stop in her surprise, much to Sasuke's irritation. Thankfully, the woman picked up the pace again when Sasuke scowled, an amused tilt to her lips letting me know she found Sasuke's behaviour to be quite cute. Shizune seemed pretty mature, having to chase after Tsunade as she had been doing I figured she'd be a little more short tempered than what was displayed in the manga, but true to form she was a well of patience.

"Jiraiya, who are these brats?"

Leaning back, I folded my arms across my chest, frowning as I did so. Tsunade was not what I was expecting. Not really. I'd been so used to her being this big character in the manga, and the with Tenten singing her praises all throughout the time I'd known my fellow Genin...

Well, she'd fallen short of all the expectations I'd had.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."

"More apprentices?" Her voice was dry, eyes lazily sliding over us again as she took another sip from the seemingly never ending supply of alcohol.

"Forget it Tsunade, I need your answer. Are you willing to accept?"

"I decline."

"Well we're done here." Standing up, I brushed the crumbs from the seat of my pants, ignoring the way everyone's attention snapped to me.

"Brat, what are you doing?"

Looking over at my newest sensei, I gave a careless shrug of my shoulders.

"It's obvious isn't it? She barely needed a second to think it over, she's got no conviction at all, that's not the kind of person we want in charge of the Leaf. Ask Kakashi-sensei instead, you'll have more luck."

"She's right," Sasuke joined me in standing, offering Shizune a grateful nod as he twisted his newly healed arm back and forth, flexing the fingers to make sure he had full movement, "we don't need a Hokage who won't give it their all."

"Tch, they all die. Life if different from money, it can't be gambled that easily, whoever puts it at risk so easily, is a fool. My grandfather and the second both focused too much on bringing peace to our home, more than anything else. But as a result, they died in the middle of their dreams, like losers. It's the same with Sarutobi-sensei and the Fourth, they died because of that position."

Snarling, I twisted on heel, grabbing at Tsunade's shirt and pulling her up until my forehead was all but pressed against hers. I could feel Kurama's chakra erupting into action under my skin, my sharpened fingernails digging in and through the thick material of Tsunade's shirt. Wide eyes stared back at me, the skin around them still flushed and pupils blown full. Still drunk.

"If you don't want the Hokage hat, then say it. But don't dare disregard all the sacrifices that've been made. The First and Second made the village so children could be protected from the bloodied clan wars they lived through, and they died making sure they could live. Just like the man who treated me like a granddaughter. Even Tou-san died so that the village would remain a safe place for children to live a peaceful life. You know, my friend looks up to you, you were her inspiration in the academy," snorting, I let go of Tsunade's shirt, sending a mental request for Kurama to cut the chakra off, no matter how angry I was.

Stepping down from the table I'd stood up on, I rolled my shoulders, noting Sasuke was flanking my side and looking about as impressed with Tsunade as I was.

"She looked up to you, and I was kinda looking forwards to meeting you. You were the woman that pushed for a medic on every team, the one that improved the hospital program so that it ended up saving hundreds of lives with new medical jutsu. That's the woman we wanted as Hokage. But it'd clear she's dead."

Turning back to Jiraiya, I tried to force the snarl from my face. I was not successful.

"I guess this is what the bottom of the barrel looks like then. If she's too scared to put her life on the line for others, I don't want to be working under her and putting my own at risk. Not for someone like her. Konohamaru would be a better option for Hokage. At least he'd care about the village, he'd risk his life without a second thought."

"You brat, you don't know anything."

Spinning back around to look at Tsunade, I squeezed Sasuke's fingers when he threaded his them through mine.

"So you lost some people, boohoo. Sasuke's lost all his family, I never got to meet my parents and the man that treated me like granddaughter is dead. I almost lost Sasuke and Kiba to Orochimaru. If he wanted to kill them, he would have and I could have done nothing to stop it. But I'm not going to roll over and crawl into the bottle. Because if I do, other people will die that I could have saved. The Third cared about the village, and because he fought for it, so will I."

Calling to Jiraiya that I was going to book a hotel room for the three of us, I walked out the establishment with a silent Sasuke at my side. I'd just been expecting so much more. Ninja lost people all the time, but I couldn't understand how she'd just roll over and let their sacrifice go to waste. It was part of the lifestyle, hell, it was part of life. People were going to die. Maybe it was because I'd already died once, but when it came down to it, I'd rather appreciate the time I'd gotten with my precious people than to mope around after their death.

 

"Wait up brats!"

Turning to get a look at Jiraiya, I stopped, ignoring the two women and the pig following after him.

"You know that the Uchiha hit Kakashi with the same genjutsu he put you under?"

Damn it, I'd forgotten about that. Sasuke had suffered under it as a child, and he'd managed to wake up, but who knew how long that'd been, I'd never thought to find out this information. And I didn't know if the effects differed from person to person, if Itachi had used a stronger version against Kakashi. I didn't know.

"I'll consider going to heal Hatake," Tsunade began, stepping forwards with one hand resting upon her hip, "but I want to put the kid in her place first."

"Done." I knew I had no chance against the woman, but if she'd consider going to heal Kakashi-sensei, I'd take every single punch she could throw until my brain bled from my ears.

"Naruto-"

"No. If it means Kakashi-sensei get's healed, then I'll do anything." Rolling my shoulders, I pulled the storage scroll I'd been keeping all of my stuff in and threw it over to Sasuke, who caught it with his now healed arm, a frown on his face. But he didn't say anything. Just like I'd not mentioned anything about how blindingly stupid it'd been for him to run at Itachi without backup, past my little comment about us ending up bloodied smears, that was all Sasuke would offer me was a disapproving frown.

"I'll only need one finger for this," Tsunade mused, pointing the digit in question at me. I said nothing. Let her underestimate me, it'd only play to my advantage.

Squaring my stance, I pulled out a handful of shuriken, fixing them in my grip before calculating my next move. Tsunade was clearly waiting for me to make the first move, still stood in her perfectly relaxed position. At Jiraiya's sigh, I leapt into the air with a chakra powered jump, twisting around and firing the collection of shuriken towards Tsunade, body still spinning so that with my back to her, I could perform the handseals. Tsunade, as expected, expertly caught the shuriken that'd have hit her, but had otherwise not moved.

She was unprepared for when I switched places with the metal in her hands in a chakra heavy replacement technique. Normally, the replacement jutsu could only be used with an item that was of a similar mass to the user. But flooding it with enough chakra allowed you to switch with smaller objects, something I'd practiced until my fingers wouldn't stop shaking. So now instead, of gripping a shuriken, Tsunade had a hold of my jacket, giving me the opportunity to swing my fist at her.

On instinct she caught it with her other hand, and that was her mistake. Not dodging. She wasn't the only one that could hit hard now.

The older blonde was blown back by the impact, the bones in her hand shattered. She'd made the same mistake Itachi had with Sasuke. Just because she couldn't sense the chakra build up, she hadn't been prepared in the split second it'd taken for me to activate the seal and for all that chakra to pour out at once.

Stood to a side, I heard Shizune's sharp intake of breath as her mentor was thrown back, even if all it took was a quick flip and then Tsunade recovered. The drunken flush was gone, instead sharp eyes stared back at me, assessing as her good hand began healing up the bad one.

"So you're not a complete incompetent." And then she shot forwards.

I'm not proud of what I did next. Not at all. But Kakashi's health was on the line.

My blood sprayed the ground as I drew the kunai across my wrist, leaving a scarlet trail across my clothes even as the wound instantly sizzled shut. I was a low blow, probably the lowest I could have dealt in all honesty. It made me sick, using Tsunade's haemophobia against her.

Yet, to make Kakashi-sensei's suffering as short as possible, I'd use every dirty trick in the book.

Sheathing the bloodied kunai, I turned away from the trembling Sannin, walking back over to Jiraiya and Sasuke.

"I'm done here."

The older male was frowning, clearly as impressed with my own tactics as I was. Sasuke... Well, Sasuke understood the idea of using any means necessary far better than Jiraiya did. He knew that when it came down to it, ruthlessness was necessary. So did Jiraiya, but the man was probably not expecting me to use such a method against Tsunade.

"Let me know if she's going to come help Kakashi-sensei or not, because I'll have to start looking for another medic if not."

 

Sat in our rented hotel room, I stared at my toes, wiggling them about every few seconds of so, my arms wrapped around my shins with my legs pulled flushed against my torso. Sasuke, following Jiraiya's orders for us to never leave one another's side, was scribbling away at one of the notebooks Jiraiya had given us to keep all out jutsu notes in. What idea had suddenly hit him, I didn't know. He'd eventually share it, so I wouldn't badger. I didn't much feel like talking anyway.

Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, had followed us on Jiraiya's orders too, and she kept sending me furious looks every half a minute. Half an hour in, and I could no longer sit and accept the looks.

"If you've got something to say to me, then just say it."

Two dark heads of hair snapped around to look at me, Sasuke slowly setting the pencil he'd been scribbling with down, while Shizune grimaced but nevertheless got to her feet and folded her arms in an attempt to look stern. It was working remarkably well.

"You should not have done that to Tsunade-sama. It's not honourable."

"Just like it's not honourable to disgrace an orphan's father before her face, right?"

Shizune cringed at the same time the tension left my shoulders.

"You're right though. I shouldn't have fallen to her level, I know what traumas like. I just had someone with me at the time who was willing to put in the effort to really help me through it. I'd be dead without Kakashi-sensei, he was the only one who reached out to me when no one else would. That's why I'll do whatever it takes, use every dirty trick in the book if I have to, to make sure he's okay. Because like Sasuke and Jiraiya-sensei, Kakashi-nii is also one of my most precious people."

Shizune's face softened above me, her coal eyes looking away and over at Sasuke, who'd gone back to writing but really, his pencil hadn't moved across the page since I'd started talking.

"Naruto-chan, do you want to be Hokage?"

"Huh?" Looking up at Shizune, I blinked slowly, trying to absorb the words that she'd just said. They scrambled about in my brain before finally settling.

"Hokage?" Did I want to be Hokage? No, that was Naruto's dream. I wasn't like him, I wasn't out looking for the entire village to acknowledge me. I had that already from my most precious people, from the people I considered family. I might have been an orphan at the start of this life, but I had made my own family, forged my own bonds. I didn't need an entire village to look at me nicely, I just needed the family I'd made to love me. To love me like I loved them.

"No, it's never been my goal. What I want is to be strong enough to protect all my precious people. And they love that village, so I love it too, even if the people there can be mean to me. Konoha stands for an ideal, to look after everyone you care about and to do what is right. Even if Kakashi-sensei had died..." I trailed off, tears springing to my eyes at the very thought, "if Kakashi-niisan died I would mourn, I'd be very lost. But I wouldn't give up. Because Nii-san lives to protect that village and I wouldn't disgrace him by abandoning it. That's why I don't understand Tsunade. Her loved one's died protecting the village, and she's pretty much spitting on their memory by abandoning Konoha when it needs her."

Dragging one palm down the side of my face, I took to once again chewing on my lip, looking up at Shizune and wondering if my words had made any sense at all.

"I think I'm going to go to sleep now. Sasuke and I are training in morning."

 

A week passed, a week that I didn't see Tsunade in at all. Sasuke and I trained, we bettered our combination jutsu under Jiraiya or Shizune's watchful eye, we worked on our taijutsu together.

At some point while I was out and about with just Shizune, Tsunade stopped by to check on the curse seal. She okayed the changes, apparently they'd done no damage at all to the pathways, and with that, Jiraiya went on ahead with his second adjustment, twisting the Second Tier around until it was drawing in natural energy and then expelling it, kind of like a loop. It'd remain that way until Sasuke began his Sage training, which would be when Jiraiya would undo the loop and link the seal up to Sasuke's chakra network, allowing him an easier time at absorbing natural energy and, theoretically, even taking in small quantities while not remaining absolutely still.

Jiraiya was already working on a seal of his own to ease his Sage Mode for himself.

Last night, Tsunade and Jiraiya had gone out for another drink, leaving myself and Sasuke to Shizune's tender care.

Pulling on my cropped shirt, I threw my arms through the required holes of my jacket right after, stepping outside of the bathroom to see Shizune was finally awake. Her bright dark eyes shot from both Sasuke to myself before she hastily made her way to the window.

"Stay in the hotel," she snapped, flicking the window open and sticking her head out, retreating not a second later as the sound of kunai driving into wood resounded through our ears.

I was on my feet instantly, clutching at a set of kunai while Sasuke had a kunai in his right, left ready to begin sparking up a Chidori. It was only at Jiraiya's voice that I relaxed slightly. And only slightly because it didn't sound right. It sounded almost slurred. Sasuke was already climbing out of the window and I followed without hesitation.

Looks like things were coming to head now.

 

Racing alongside Sasuke, Shizune at the front and Jiraiya trailing behind us in his sluggish state, I ran mentally through all the gear I had on us.

"No light seal for a first move," Sasuke began next to me, eyes spinning Sharingan red, face perhaps as determined as my own. Leaping from tree to tree, we bounced off of the trunks with a practiced ease, though at the speed the two Jonin were pushing us, neither Sasuke or I had much breath to talk. But we still had to plan.

"Combo two and three then?"

"What about six?"

"Only if our allies are prepared to dodge it all." Six was a bit destructive after all.

Sasuke snorted, skidding a stop as Shizune and Jiraiya did.

The castle had changed since we'd last saw it, and certainly not for the best. It was pretty damn clear that Tsunade had declined the deal, judging by the heel indent that was the epicentre for the biggest crater present.

We shot off again, following the trail of destruction that led from the castle out into the open ground around Tanzaku town. I was well trained in body language, every ninja was. So while Sasuke may be look to be ready for this fight, I could still see the tension his shoulders, no doubt the same stress was evident on my face. But we had to aid Tsunade, that's all there was to it.

"Body flicker time!" Jiraiya announced, snatching up Sasuke's arm at the same time that Shizune caught mine.

And with that, we arrived at the battlefield in a puff of smoke, landing perfectly between Kabuto and Tsunade. Sasuke to my left, Shizune to my right and Jiraiya to my far left. Kabuto had flinched back at our abrupt arrival, but didn't appear shocked by who'd shown up. Evidentially he'd witnessed us making our way around town before we'd arrived here.

As the Sannin had their own greetings, my eyes flashed to look at Kabuto, my lips pulling back in a snarl. I'd known already, but he really was a filthy traitor.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-chan."

"So, you're a traitor too." Sasuke crouched low defensively. Oh yeah, after Itachi, my teammate would have little tolerance for traitors and spies. Good.

"Move!" Tsunade shoved passed Jiraiya, throwing the unbalanced man to the floor and dashing forwards to Kabuto. Only for the boy to use the same trick that I had a week ago, slashing at his own wrist in order to spray Tsunade with blood. By this point, I'd summoned my own shadow clone, it instantly replacing itself with Tsunade.

"Now Sasuke!"

"Fire Style; Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

"Wind Style; Great Breakthrough!"

The fire blazing towards Kabuto flared twice as strong when my wind jutsu amplified it, Sasuke and I leaping back towards Tsunade and Shizune, the latter of who had thrown the woman's jacket over her shoulders and was now carefully wiping away Kabuto's blood. My clone had tried valiantly to hold Kabuto in place, but he still managed to dispel it, dodging the vast majority of the flames, but one caught his leg, the fire eating through as much skin as possible as he retreated back to Orochimaru's side. Orochimaru, who was looking at my teammate with obvious interest.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Shizune. You're in charge of the guy with glasses. I'll take care of Orochimaru."

Nodding both Sasuke and I closed ranks closer to Tsunade and Shizune, each of us with a kunai in hand.

"Take you back to Wave yet?"

The Uchiha snorted, rolling his crimson eyes.

"No chance. I've gotten stronger since then. This time, I won't be going down so easily."

I snorted, snatching up Tsunade's arm with Shizune and pulling her out of the way of the giant snake that made an attempt on our lives, Sasuke leaping to safety beside us.

Shizune left Tsunade with us, going to meet Kabuto in battle, but she was taken down when Kabuto preformed some sort of medical ninjutsu on her legs.

Summoning up two clones to stand guard over Tsunade, I glanced at Sasuke's back, enough time to notice the four fingers he was holding there, pointing downwards. I raced forwards, meeting Kabuto in Taijutsu, ducking the first glowing hand and catching the wrist of the second. With my limb too close, he was able to cut through the muscles on my left forearm, but it also gave me a chance to attached my hand to him with chakra, much like how tree-climbing had worked.

This was the taijutsu Sasuke and I had been attempting this past week, incorporating a different type of chakra into our blows. Instead of pushing it outwards or building it up to create more damage, we'd used it to stick to each other's limbs, pulling one another off balance. I wouldn't have been able to keep hold of Kabuto's limb were it not for the week of practicing a chakra hold.

So when I jerked his arm towards me, he had no choice but to follow.

Just in time to be granted Sasuke's fist landing smack into his stomach and sending the white haired ninja rocketing backwards.

I'd only just managed to release my hold, shaking my arm back and forth and hissing in pain, even if I knew the injury would be healed in a minute, what with Kyūbi's chakra protectively coursing through my network. Not enough to show on my features, but enough to kick start the healing.

"Good plan."

Sasuke nodded his head, the both of us retreating to Tsunade's side, as Kabuto slowly stumbled to his feet again, one hand clutching at his ribs and looking pretty damn upset.

That punching seal was pure genius, that much was obvious. Of course, it wouldn't remain a surprise for long, given the fact we were using it so often. As time goes on, we'd have to start making those blows count. But for now, that was the third time it'd worked like a charm.

Kabuto was approaching us now and I flicked three fingers at Sasuke, the Uchiha grappling with Kabuto the second he got close enough. The Uchiha's signature taijutsu was fluid motions, and now with the sticky chakra technique, it was impossible to tell when Sasuke would be pushing and when he'd be pulling.

Meanwhile, the familiar whirl of chakra was forming in my cupped right hand and I shot forwards, sliding into the opening that Sasuke had created with his taijutsu, slamming the Rasengan into the older ninja's stomach. He went rocketing back, further than what Sasuke's punch had sent him.

"Tch, the left arm again?" For the second time in a month, Sasuke was protectively curling his torso around his left arm, which was rapidly purpling. Broken.

But we'd still gotten the hit in, even if I'd had to undo Kurama's patch job on my arm to effectively use the Rasengan.

Coughing, I startled upon noticing that blood was leaking from between my lips. Kabuto had managed to get a sneak attack in. I spluttered when a bubble of red exploded from between my teeth, staining the grass beneath our feet as I dropped to my knees.

"Naruto?!"

 

 

" **Naruto!** "

Startling at the far too loud voice, I blinked, finding myself face to face with a huge red eye sat between golden bars.

" **Stupid brat, taking so much damage! All the effort I have to put in to keep fixing you up!** "

"You said my name."

" **You won't have a body to be addressed by if it were not for me! Do not forget that!** "

Staring up at the fox, a smile broke out across my face, I could already feel my consciousness fighting to wake back up.

"Thanks Kurama."

 

* * *

 

 

Sasuke could only stare as the woman that he'd had so little respect for shielded both Naruto and himself from deadly blow after blow, again and again. Orochimaru, the snake Sannin, was determined to kill Naruto for her potential as a troublemaker to his future plans.

He wouldn't let that happen. Together, he and Naruto had taken down Kabuto, even if they'd both suffered injuries doing so. He'd improved greatly during this past month, travelling with both his teammate and her godfather. Constantly training, constantly thinking of new ways to better themselves. Orochimaru was strong. Itachi was strong.

But they'd grown strong before they left the Leaf. So Sasuke would grow strong there too.

"Because now, I am the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf!"

"-suke?" Naruto's quiet whisper pulled all his attention back to her, and Sasuke quickly pulled her up into a somewhat steady position, one of her thin, lithe arms thrown over his shoulder in case they needed to abandon their current position.

The two of them looked up in time to witness three explosions of white smoke around them, giving way to three of the biggest summonings he'd ever seen.

Looking down at the body of the giant slug that they were sat on, Sasuke's eyes flickered back over to the female member of the Sanin, even as another slug formed from the large one, carrying both himself and a half conscious Naruto away from the battlefield. They landed next to the Sannin's assistant, who was quick to address the smaller slug.

"Shizune-sama, please take care of the kids. This will be a gruesome battle, it is Tsunade-sama's wish for you to hide somewhere safe."

Tch, hiding again.

Snatching a glance over his shoulder at the battle that was about to take place, Sasuke grimaced. He'd retreat for now, because these guys were so very much out of his league. That much was obvious. But some day, he'd be able to fight on that kind of level, someday in the not too distant future.

The ground shook as the three giants did battle, the Toad Sannin throwing out a massive flame attack with his toad. The heat was scorching hot even from their position and Sasuke had to throw his arms up in an attempt to defend his face from the heat, Sharingan eyes still tracking every motion. He could barely believe it when the busty woman of such petite stature hefted the giant sword like it was nothing, slamming it down into the snake summons mouth.

He was treated to the sight of the woman that would become Hokage socking Orochimaru in the jaw, easily breaking it. Sasuke made a mental note to never upset the woman he was going to be reporting to from now on. Naruto's punching seal might be good, but it clearly wasn't up to the this woman's level of strength.

"Who's winning?" Naruto's croak drew his attention back to her, the blonde alternating between squinting her eyes and staring wide eyed at the landscape.

"There's black spots in my vision."

The assistant of Tsunade made a harassed noise in the back of her throat, reaching out to take a delicate hold of Naruto's head to assess the damage as the battle going on before them came to a halt, Orochimaru fleeing, the remaining two Sannin slowly making their way over.

"Orochimaru's gone, they drove him off," Sasuke replied bluntly, watching as Naruto's lips twitched upwards.

"Good, he's not allowed you. You're my teammate."

A smile tugged at his lips without his permission before his eyes darted over to look at the two Sannin. They'd gotten strong as a team, they'd been the Sannin before they'd become known as individuals. Itachi had told him to cling to his hatred, and he would. He would let that power him towards his vengeance.

But he didn't need to hate everything.

"Yeah, your teammate." Shoving Naruto to a side before she could really process what he'd said, Sasuke held out his broken arm for the medic to patch up for the second time this week.

"Here brat."

"Huh?"

At Naruto's grunt of surprise, Sasuke twisted to get a better look at his teammate, noting the necklace she was now clasping delicately in one hand. It was the same one that Tsunade had been wearing to draw attention to her oversized bust.

"For winning that little spar earlier."

"But I didn't win, I cheated." Naruto looked up with guarded blue eyes, holding the dark cord of the necklace carefully between her fingers. Sasuke could understand why. From what Jiraiya had told him, that necklace had belonged to the First Hokage and was worth a ridiculous amount of money. But he already knew Naruto would sell it. It wasn't in her nature to do such a thing, she didn't really have much of a need for money in all honesty.

"It was a ninja win. Don't be ungrateful."

Naruto gave a sheepish smile, fastening the necklace around her own neck, the little gem coming to rest just below her collar bones.

Tsunade paused, turning to look at him and grimacing slightly.

"I don't have anything to give you right now-"

"Just teach me to heal my arm the next time I break it." He had no intention of becoming a medic nin, but he'd be damned if he had to go through another week with a broken arm ever again.

The new Hokage gave him a wry smile but conceded with a nod of her head, paying no attention as Naruto was scooped up by her godfather as if she weighed nothing more than the scroll on his back. Which taking into account the size of the scroll, was a very real possibility.

"We'll rest in the village for the night, but after that, we head home."

Sasuke didn't get a chance to say anything, because the Toad Sannin had snatched him up too, throwing him over the shoulder not currently occupied by Naruto.

"Rest up brats, you did good."

 

* * *

 

 

I was only half aware of what was going on after I woke up from my short chat with Kurama. I understood enough to know Jiraiya had carried both myself and a protesting Sasuke back to the hotel, where I'd proceeded to get a goodnight sleep.

Now, morning had broken across the sky, the six of us waking up and trudging downstairs for breakfast. Pushing the white of the egg around on my plate, I glance  up to meet Sasuke's eyes, rolling my own at the look he gave me. Nevertheless, I gave in and shuffled the white of my egg over onto his plate along with the tomato.

It was the rules whenever we out for breakfast as team that we almost always ate at my restaurant in Konoha, that the three of us would always get a full breakfast; Sasuke would get the tomatoes off both mine and Kiba, and then Kiba would usually get the white of my egg. But without him here, off training with his mother on some clan technique or another, Sasuke was more than happy to take advantage of his absence.

It was only once we'd finished out meal, stood around while Jiraiya grumblingly went off to pay the bill, that we started talking.

"So brat," Tsunade began, looking over at me and my hand not holding the chopsticks slowly rose to curl around the necklaces resting just below my collarbones. I'd woken up with it on, though I had no idea why Tsunade had actually given me it.

"Still don't think you can work under my rule?"

Blushing slightly, I looked away from the new Hokage, puffing up my cheeks and then slowly exhaling all the air that was stored there.

"I can't work under a drunk washout. But Tsunade of the Sannin? I think I can work under her."

The blonde's lips twisted up at the corners, before suddenly they were pressed against my forehead, the Konoha headband having been pulled down over my eyes so she could do so.

"Tsunade-sama, why did you gift me your necklace? The real reason?"

Looking up at the busty woman once I'd readjusted my headband, I watched as her smile softened slightly, one arm coming to rest on her hip.

"Because you inherited their will to protect."

Cheeks pink, I looked away, instead trying to turn my mind onto something else.

Thankfully, Sasuke was more than happy to provide.

"Naruto. Are you well enough to train on the way back?"

"Ha! That should be my question to you!"


	11. The Decisive Decision

We slipped quietly back into Konoha, through a route only known to a handful of ANBU, according to Jiraiya. Of course, now that there was a new Hokage, all the old routes would be changed, twisted up and made differently. Protocol dictated that such a thing had to happen apparently, so who were we to say otherwise?

Huddling into the soft cushions of one of the plush sofas that were sat in Tsunade's office, I allowed Sasuke to remained half pressed against my side, instead of insisting that he shuffle over a bit so that I wasn't squashed by Jiraiya's large bulk as he too took a seat.

Now primly positioned behind the Hokage's desk, Senju Tsunade stared back at the three of us, Shizune stood faithfully by her side and holding the pearl wearing pig.

The image of the Third sat behind that very same desk overlapped for a few seconds. Had I been standing, it would have been a perfect mirror of when I'd received my first B-rank mission, a man with light hair and a Uchiha by my side. My heart throbbed painfully at the thought, the time that had passed by and left me for daydreams and whimsies.

Then I was looking back into the sharp honey brown of Tsunade's eyes once again, watching her lips lift upwards in a small smirk as she picked up the Hokage's hat and proceeded to place it atop her head, until only the curve of her lips was visible.

"How do I look?"

Beside me, Jiraiya gave a thumbs up at the same time a low key wolf whistle passed from my lips.

At that, Tsunade scowled, throwing one of the desk's paperweights at Jiraiya.

"You've ruined her already."

I didn't smirk, because that was be juvenile, but the twitching corners of my mouth probably gave away my amusement.

"Give me some time with the Uchiha and I promise to return him in a more fun state too."

Scowling, my fellow blonde proceeded to rub wearily at her temples, signing herself in on the paperwork as the new Hokage, officially accepting the title, job and all that came with it.

Drumming my fingers against my thigh, I looked over at Sasuke, who had one hand held out before him, medical green chakra flickering into existence every second or so before it disappeared. Tsunade had shown him the correct way to heal a broken bone, something that Sasuke had memorized with his Sharingan. Now it was just a case of him working for the right amount of control. He'd never be a medic nin -mostly because he didn't want to be- but he'd most certainly be able to patch up his broken limbs while out in the field. You know, after a bit of practice that was.

With the green glow twinkling in and out of existence, his skin seemed even more pale, long thin fingers curling through the seals needed for beginners.

"Alright brats, show me to your sensei. I'll worry about dealing with the council afterwards."

Shooting up to my feet, I pulled Sasuke along as I went, the dark haired teen stumbling slightly before he righted himself. "Come on, the sooner Kakashi-sensei's in working order again, the sooner we can get back to team training." Sasuke snorted under his breath, but nevertheless took the lead, even going so far as to snatch up my arm and sharply drag me along after him in a mood that could almost be called, well, playful. Fighting down the warmth that was flooding my insides, I sped up after him, grinning the whole way.

 

 

 

I suppose we were an odd group walking into the hospital reception, two Genin, two Sannin, and an assistant with a pig. The nurses seemed to think so, because every single one that caught sight of our group stopped what they were doing to stare for a few moments, even those that walked with the grace of a highly trained ninja. Then again, the return of legendary medic Tsunade was sure to gander some attention I guess.

Shuffling closer to Sasuke's side until our upper arms were pressed together, we moved as one, trailing after Tsunade's purposeful strides towards the front desk, Shizune fluttering around her like a particularly stressed butterfly. Jiraiya, no surprises here, was busy chatting up a nurse.

"How long until you master healing broken bones then?" I asked, nudging Sasuke in the ribs and watching the boy scowl, dark eyes rolling in their sockets. I'd asked him this question every day so far, and everyday he'd given me the same answer.

"I'll master it when I master it." And then, so quiet I could barely hear it, "maybe when I start breaking your bones to practice on."

Grimacing, I retrieved my limb from where it was in arms length of Sasuke, puckering my eyebrows. Broken bones were not cool, and I wouldn't put it past Sasuke for an 'accidental' break to occur. Ha, no thank you.

Rubbing wearily at my forearm, I took off after our little group, Tsunade having gotten the directions to Kakashi-sensei's room and leaving the receptionist looking especially haggard, a glint to her eyes that seemed to give the impression of a woman who'd just been dragged through hell and wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve such a thing.

"How long did you say you've been apprenticed under Hatake brat?"

Instinctively knowing that Tsunade was addressing me, I jogged forwards and away from my violent teammate, forced to power walk in order to keep up with the impressive woman.

"Since I graduated, just before I turned seven."

"Nearly six years then."

Chewing my lower lip, I gave a shallow nod. It would be the sixth year anniversary in a few weeks, that was very true.

Warmth bubble in my stomach, Kakashi-sensei had put up with me for six years, had dragged me back from the borders of antisocialism, forced me to interact with another human being. He was my most beloved person in this village, though Sasuke, Kiba and Shisui were now successfully nipping at his heels. Hell, Neji, Jiraiya and Tsunade were up there too. Even some of the rookie nine, along with Team Gai. My circle of friends was growing ever more, Haku and Gaara in that number for certain. I should really write to the two at some point in the future, that much was clear.

"So you're close then."

"Yes." I put as much feeling as I could into the word, unable to truly express how much the silver haired menace meant to me. Kakashi was perpetually late, was almost always reading a dirty book and had no regards for social cues. But he was my sensei, he'd taught me almost everything I knew, taken me under his wing and nurtured me, even if my face was constant salt in the wound that was the loss of Namikaze Minato. He still looked after me.

And it was time I started repaying the favour.

"I'm glad."

Tsunade's response puzzled me for a second, but I nevertheless trotted after her, entering the small private room after the busty blonde, the rest of our group tailing behind me.

Kakashi-sensei looked, tired. Laid out in the bed like he was. His mask was off, but some thoughtful person had been kind enough to pull the sheets up to cover the lower half of his face, leaving only his scarred eye visible where usually it would be hidden. What was surprising though, was the visitor.

Haruno Sakura stared back at the lot of us, having clearly just finished placing a new batch of flowers in the vase upon the bedside table.

Blinking slowly, I offered up one hand in a hesitant wave, watching the brilliant green eyes dart to look over at Sasuke for a second, but then return to me.

"Ah, hello Uzumaki-san."

Mind whirling -because why was Sakura here? Kakashi wasn't her sensei, so why would she show up with flowers for him?- I offered a polite nod of my head.

"I think you can address me as Naruto now, Haruno-chan. Not to sound rude, but why are you visiting Kakashi-sensei?"

The pink haired girl blushed, looking nervously away, though her eyes did dart to Sasuke for a second once again.

"Kakashi-sensei saved me from a Sound nin during the invasion, and with the two of you out of town, I wanted to make sure he was okay. God knows that Kiba wouldn't be thoughtful enough to bring flowers, even if he has been visiting."

I snorted. It was true, Kiba wouldn't think to bring flowers, even when he was stopping by. To know someone was looking after Kakashi while I wasn't in the village though- I gave Sakura my best bow, formal and very thankful.

"You have my thanks Haruno-chan. Kakashi-sensei means a lot to me."

A fist came down on my head in a gentle reprimand, Sasuke standing beside me and retracting his arm.

"He means a lot to us, you mean." It wasn't really a question, but I nodded along anyway, smiling in a pleased fashion. Sasuke had admitting to caring about someone, if that wasn't a step in the right direction, I don't know what was.

"I was glad I could help Sasuke-kun… Naruto-san."

Smiling, I edged around Sakura, stopping by Kakashi's bedside. He looked smaller, so very much unlike his aloft, usual self.

My heart clenched painfully in my chest at the image before me, even as Tsunade's glowing green hands came down on the sides of Kakashi's temples, the low thrum of healing chakra echoing through the room. Kakashi's eyes opened slowly, one charcoal black and the other ruby red, before they slid shut again and a low sigh passed from between his lips.

No longer able to contain myself, I crawled up onto the bed beside him, curling into Kakashi's side even as he reached to pull at the fabric of his mask, dragging it up to cover his face beneath the covers. As soon as that was done, his good eye, his none Sharingan eye, flickered open to look at me as I placed my head hesitantly on his shoulder, clutching at his arm as I did so.

"Kaichō-chan."

"Kakashi-nii." My voice didn't wobble, my cheeks weren't wet. I would never admit to it as I pressed my face into Kakashi's collarbone, feeling his hesitant arms come up to wrap around me. I doubted the man would ever be fully comfortable with physical contact, as much as I'd like him to be anyway. But for now it'd do.

There was a dip in the mattress and to my eternal surprise, Sasuke's dark head of hair nestled into the free space between Kakashi's arms, inviting himself into our hug.

I knew why he was doing it. Had he just left it as me and Kakashi, it'd have been obvious that there was something more to us than sensei and student, that it was a very clear sibling bond. With how Kakashi had been pretty much adopted by the Fourth, it wouldn't have taken too long for everyone to put the pieces together.

By squirming in as he had, Sasuke had made this a team hug, only missing Kiba. He was protecting me. I squeezed him extra hard in hopes of showing my gratitude. I would do the same thing if I could, I would protect Sasuke's family bonds with Shisui.

And if I got lucky and things worked out well, I'd be able to repair his bond with the somewhat innocent Itachi. I would help Sasuke as he helped me.

"Maa, and where have my cute little genin been?" Kakashi's voice was somewhat hoarse from disuse, but neither of us mentioned it, Sasuke instead worming his way free of the hug. I remained pressed up against Kakashi's side, even if his arms were no longer wrapped around me. To have seen him in such a vulnerable state, even if it was only for a moment..

I didn't like it. Not one bit.

"We went to find Tsunade, she's going to be the Fifth Hokage now. Jiraiya-sensei's been teaching us some stuff too." Kakashi hummed low in the back of his throat, a signal I knew to mean he was tired.

"Okay brats, I want to see you in the Hokage tower after I've asked your sensei a few questions."

Nodding, I gave Kakashi's hand one last squeeze before slipping off the bed, cheeks burning as Sakura stared. She didn't say anything though, wilting slightly under Sasuke's heavy gaze.

The dark haired boy had gotten steadily more and more protective since we'd ran into Itachi and Kisame, and that solid attachment made me feel warmth deep inside my chest. He'd been the one I'd been worried about, he'd been the one that seemed so untouchable in the manga.

But here and now, I'd judged him too quickly, that much was obvious. Neji was my best friend, but Sasuke was as close as a brother now. Maybe it was because I, this Naruto, was a girl, maybe it was because I was an early graduate instead of a dead last.

 But Sasuke cared.

And for now, I'd be happy with that.

 

 

 

We made it back to the Hokage tower rather quickly, considering the two of us walked down main street Konoha at a casual pace. Several of the children we passed by waved at us, and it was only upon hearing one child excitedly talking to his mother that I learnt why. They were part of the class Sasuke and I had saved in the invasion.

We were just outside the Hokage tower when one of the kids drummed up the courage to come over, eagerly dancing towards the two of us as his worried mother puttered around behind him.

"Hi! You two helped Iruka-sensei, right?" He rocked back on his heels, dull red hair shining in the bright sunshine of Fire Country. His mother frowned, but she wasn't outright glaring at me. This, well, this was an improvement.

"We did," Sasuke confirmed before I could say anything, and then seemingly on a whim, reached out and ruffled the kid's hair.

The boy squealed, then shot forwards, catching Sasuke, and then myself, in a hug. I stiffened at the same time the civilian mother did, but quickly returned the gesture.

"Well if you're in the academy, maybe you'll be the one protecting everybody someday. That is, if you train really hard." I paused dramatically, cocking my head to a side and assuming an exaggerated thinking pose. "I mean, you are training hard, right?"

The kid nodded so hard I was afraid his head might detach itself.

"Hell yeah! I'm gonna be as strong as you someday!"

Smiling, I bid the kid a goodbye, the mother ushering him away and offering me a thankful, if mightily confused, look.

"Well, that was strange," I grumbled as Sasuke jerked my arm, pulling me into the Hokage's tower after him, a snort escaping his lips as he did so.

"You're good with kids," Sasuke noted drily, ducking past the flustered looking receptionist and climbing up the stairs, finally letting my arm go when it became obvious that I was indeed paying some attention to my surroundings.

"I guess I need to be, what with Konohamaru an' all."

Sasuke gave a sharp nod, but didn't say anything else on the  matter. Following after him, I wondered what was going through his head.

Was he thinking about how he'd have handled kids? I knew for a fact he'd been the youngest Uchiha at the time of the massacre, the only survivor outside of Shisui. Was he perhaps thinking of the possible Uchiha children that could be running around now, had their parents not been killed before their time? I found the topic uncomfortable.

They were traitors, willing to plunge the village into a civil war for the sake of their wounded pride. But they were also people, people who'd been hurt, people who'd loved and hated and lived. They'd been prepared to throw their lot in with the Clan elders, to put their lives on the line for the clan.

But they'd wanted to bring war down upon the village. While I'd have preferred to figure things out through negotiation, and while the gun had certainly been jumped in regards to what action to take, when it boiled down to it, I think I'd have made the same choice as Itachi.

The clan would have never managed to take over the Leaf. They'd have all died anyway, just taken a whole lot of villagers down with them. Itachi had looked at it objectively and done the best with what he had. I couldn't hate him for that, not when I understood.

For Kakashi, for my teammates, there was very little I wouldn't do. Of that, I was pretty certain.

 

 

 

We waited in Tsunade's office for a few minutes, a startled Shikamaru joining us three minutes in. When it'd been just Sasuke and I called in, I'd been cautiously hopeful that Tsunade had something important to tell us, maybe something to do with the curse seal. But now with Shikamaru here, that clearly wasn't the case. In fact, the only thing that really link the three of us together was, well, the Chũnin exams.

Were we all getting promotions? I'd not really gone into the exam expecting to be promoted, I'd been so focused on making sure my teammates would both be okay that I'd actually forgotten the original purpose of the exam. Looking back on it though, both Sasuke and I had done well. We'd both made informed choices -Sasuke decidedly not engaging Lee in Taijutsu and I knocking Temari out as fast as I could- and afterwards during the invasion we'd both gone to the places that would need us most, we'd preformed well under pressure, as any good Chũnin should.

I could see the realization also hitting Sasuke, who turned somewhat stunned eyes on me, just as Tsunade re-entered the room, Jiraiya dogging her footsteps and whining about how she'd made Shizune stay at the hospital. Thus, he only really had one piece of eye-candy in the office now.

"Right you three. I've got the reports, from council elders, from the Third and from those you performed under during the invasion. Congratulations."

Tsunade threw a green vest at each of us, though I already knew I wouldn't be wearing mine. Too bulky for my form right now.

Beside me, I could swear that Shikamaru let out a whimper of displeasure and defeat; when I turned my gaze on him it was to the sight of his horrified face staring down at his new flat jacket. He looked very unhappy.

Snorting, I threw the jacket over my shoulders, shoving my limbs through the relevant holes but leaving the front unzipped, unlike Sasuke, who was quick to pull the heavy-duty fabric on and close it up over his shirt. I caught his eyes once he finished admiring his new garment, unable to help the amused smile when his cheeks flushed a light pink.

"You're all Chũnin now, so go do whatever the hell you want, I'll let you know if I need you."

And with an exaggerated shooing motion of the Sannin's hand, the three of us were quickly expelled from the office by ANBU, forcibly body flickered back onto the street outside.

For a moment, the three of us just stood there in a daze, sharing confused looks before Shikamaru finally sighed, pulling the Chũnin vest on like it weight fifty times what it actually did.

"My team's going to be insufferable," he grunted, coaxing a smile from both myself and Sasuke.

"Maybe, but look on the bright side, you don't have to run that exam again Nara-san."

Shikamaru paused for a second, running the thought through his head before he grinned.

"Good point. And it's Shikamaru, Uzumaki-san."

"Then it's Naruto to you. I guess you'll be celebrating with your team?"

I waited long enough for Shikamaru to confirm my question, and when he did, I took off down the street, waving goodbye with my left hand, my right clutching Sasuke's wrist tight.

"Come one, we'll find Kiba and then we're going out to celebrate."

 

 

 

It's wasn't that hard to find our final teammate and his canine partner, he'd clearly been looking for us too, probably having heard from the grapevine that we were back in town.

"There you are!"

An arm came down over my shoulders and I buckled slightly under the weight -he'd without doubt done that on purpose- before righting myself.

"Kiba!" I grinned, pulling the burnet into a hug, ruffling Akamaru's fur and then noticing who was currently holding Sasuke in a choke-hold.

"Shisui-sempai."

We shared a quick greeting, the older Uchiha cooing over our newly acquired vest before declaring that he'd treat the three of us to a meal in celebration, something none of us had a problem with.

Following after the Jonin, I noted all the little old ladies that greeted him in the street, the welcoming smiles of all the civilians. Someone had no doubt been helping out as many people as he could. Shisui was a good guy, the more time I spent with him the more I was thankful I'd accidentally saved him from his previous fate. Uchiha Shisui was a gem in Konoha's crown, and I would not be told otherwise.

The dark haired male didn't seem to be showing any after effects of knowing his best friend had been so close, but then again, the Uchiha had been given a month to digest Itachi's sudden reappearance. I know for a fact that if Sasuke had committed some unspeakable crime, but was actually somewhat innocent…

Well, had I been in the same position, I'd have been torn, horribly so.

Admiration for Shisui rising, I ducked into the restaurant he'd chosen, unable to keep the grin from my face.

Right now, life was good.

 

 

 

Once we were done with our meal, I waved goodbye to the two Uchihas and Kiba, whom were all heading off to their relevant homes. Kiba had thankfully been thoughtful enough to update us on the current situation within the Leaf Village, and had managed to mention the fact that Lee was currently in hospital, as a result of pushing himself too far within his training. Id' been unable to help but roll my eyes at such an idea, but nevertheless decided to visit before I retire to my own home for the night. Going so far as to even pluck up a selection of wildflowers that grew around the outskirts of Konoha's training grounds, Lee's favourite kinds of flowers if one discounted the lotus flower, I made my way back into the hospital for the second time today.

Very aware that I was no longer walking in with Tsunade of the Sannin, I approached the front desk cautiously, never having really needed to come in here on my lonesome before today. Coughing quietly to gathered the receptionists attention, I offered up my best polite smile, feeling it turn a tad more sincere when she didn't so much as twitch.

"Yes?"

"Could you point me towards Rock Lee's room please?" The scent of the wildflowers was strong under my nose, their sweet aroma disguising the artificial cleanliness that seemed to seep out from all of the surfaces of the hospital.

The nurse hummed, flicking through her sheets of information before she looked back up at me.

"Room 307, he's on bed rest." I highly doubt that.

Nevertheless, I offered my goodbyes, twisting on my heels and making my way over to the stairs. There were fewer people about than I'd been expecting, but it had been almost a month since the invasion. Only those that the medics were struggling with, only those with incredible injuries, would still be here, and they certainly wouldn't be navigating the stairs in such a state.

Grimacing slightly at the reminder of the invasion, I strolled out onto the third floor, walking down the corridors and stopping before the open door. Inside were three people, and certainly none of them looked to be on bed rest.

Hyūga Hinata was sat off to one side, clearly having just stammered through some warning or reprimand or whatever the Hinata version of such a thing was, while Neji was stood with his arms folded, having obviously given up trying to calm his erratic teammate down and just settled for starring disapprovingly at him, as if that weighty glare would cower him into submission.

Lee however, probably didn't even notice the stare, up to his sixtieth squat and struggling more than I had ever seen before.

"I thought you were suppose to be on bed rest?" My voice carried through the room, cracked like a whip, and instantly three heads turned towards me, the Hyūgas looking quite thankful and Lee abashed.

"Naruto-chan! You have returned from your most youthful mission!"

"That I have Lee, now get back in bed."

The boy stammered slightly, but thankfully obeyed my orders without putting up too much of a fight, allowing me to slide into the room and drop the wildflowers into the vase upon the bedside cabinet.

"Naruto, will you have time to spar within the week?"

Eyes dancing over to look at Neji, I gave a small shrug of my shoulders, rotating them a second afterwards.

"Should do, now be a good little genin and officially introduce your superior to your cousin."

Neji snorted, eyeing the heavy duty vest I had yet to take off and offering me a nod of acknowledgement.

"Naruto, this is my cousin, Hyūga Hinata. Hinata, this is Uzumaki Naruto."

Grinning, I bounced forwards, offering my hand up to the dark haired female.

Hinata was exceptionally pretty, with her startling pale eyes and thick dark hair. Traditional Japanese beauty, not that all the Hyūgas weren't themselves. There was just something, softer, about Hinata in comparison to all the others. Not in her personality -even though that at the moment seemed quite meek- but in her appearance. Something tender, that reminded me of all the ideals of a warm and caring home.

"It's nice to meet you Hyūga-chan!"

Hinata blushed, stumbling over her reply and I watched curiously as she refused to meet my eyes. I know back in the manga the girl had housed a rather large crush upon Naruto, but here and now, that couldn't be possible, could it? I'd barely met her, certainly not made as great of an impact to gander this sort of reaction from her. Or at least, not that I could remember at any rate.

"A-Ano, it was n-nice meeting you U-Uzumaki-sempai, but I h-have to go and meet K-Kurenai-sensei."

And with that Hinata was gone from the room before I could formulate a response, her face burning a brilliant red as she disappeared.

Frowning, I turned to look at Neji, raising a questioning eyebrow as I did so.

"Did I do something offend your cousin?" I couldn't think of any other reason she'd flee from my presence otherwise. Nor could I remember any kind of incident that would lead her to behave in such a way towards me. But clearly there had to be something.

"It is not your fault Naruto. The Hyūga clan elders were, insistent, that if another young girl the same age as Hinata could graduate so early, especially one they see as a clanless orphan, then the Hyūga heiress should be able to reach such heights too. They have been comparing Hinata-sama to you at every turn for a good many years." Oh.

Clenching my fists, I stared down into my lap, trying to stem the bubbling anger. That wasn't fair. No two children were the same, for the elders to expect the same thing of Hinata that they did of me, what ridiculousness.

"That's insane," I grumbled aloud, snorting when Lee let out a scandalized gasp. Even Neji raised an eyebrow at my blatant disregard, but it didn't do anything to stop the guilt that was swimming about within my stomach.

It was my fault that Hinata's confidence was practically nonexistent. Or at least, I'd played a partial role, the elders had done the rest of the work when it came to making sure Hinata was very much unsure of herself.

Grimacing, I stood up, brushing down my pants and turning to Lee.

"Sorry Lee, but I'm not really in the mood to make pleasantries right now. To be honest, I just want to go hit something. I hope you get well soon."

"Yosh! Go and pour your most youthful emotions into your training Naruto-chan!"

Reluctant to expose Lee to what those 'youthful feelings' really were, I just offered the older ninja a nod of my head, turning on heels and offering Neji a wordless goodbye my with my eyes for a second. I needed to go and find someone to spar with.

Hopefully Tenten wasn't up to anything important right now.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"That one?"

"For the last time, yes! That's Uchiha Sasuke."

The red head, the only female among them, pointed to the dark haired boy who was currently running through a series of hand seals, flaring out a brilliant wave of controlled flames across the surface of the lake. The Uchiha had just returned to Konoha that several days ago, and the four of them were here to extract him from the village at all costs.

But first came peaceful negotiation. It was the easiest way to start off with, even if none of their numbers actually liked it. Work smart, not hard was the motto of the day. And it would be so much harder fleeing with the Uchiha if they had a full pack of ANBU on their tail.

Tayuya of the Sound Four stared down at the dark haired boy, trying to figure out what Master Orochimaru found so important about him. Sure, he wasn't bad looking, she guessed. You know, if she was the kind of girl that went for those idiot men that looked too pretty, too delicate. So not her type. But apparently that was what Master wanted when it came to his new body, so who was Tayuya to question the wisdom of Orochimaru-sama?

She'd heard good things about the Sharingan, how Uchiha Itachi was the genius Uchiha that'd murdered all the others with his especially advanced Sharingan. He was strong, an S-ranked missing nin, so if this boy before her supposedly had the potential to rise to such heights, then who was she to say otherwise? She was here to get the job done, and then move on to the next mission.

Looking at her supposed comrades, the pink haired girl fought to keep the sneer off of her face. The Sound Four wasn't so much of a team as it was a mash up of the most skilled ninja that Orochimaru-sama had to offer. If one were to discount the lack of Kimimaro that was. She had no respect for them outside of their abilities as ninja, and she highly doubted she ever would. It'd probably be the same with the Uchiha when they brought him to Sound.

And the boy would be brought to Sound, one way or another.

"Let's go," she hissed, flashing down to stand upon the lake before the Uchiha boy.

At the exact moment another landed beside him, bright red eyes spinning viciously and Tayuya swore under her breath. The older Uchiha was not suppose to be so close by. He'd been on the other side of the village a minute ago, what the hell was he doing here now?

"I thought I sensed intruders," he mused, voice quiet and dangerous intent poured into those emotionless words. It was then that Tayuya recognised his face and another cuss slipped from between her lips. Uchiha Shisui, Shisui of the Body Flicker technique. She was not ready for this at all. God damn it all.

As if things couldn’t get bad enough, another two bodies flashed in, one with brilliant silver hair and the other blonde. Even in the dark of the night, the full moon still glowed perfectly off their lightly coloured hair, Tayuya focusing upon the only other female they were facing off against.

She stood tall, her arms folded across her chest and beside their target. The deep whisker marks on each cheek though, that was what Tayuya was able to identify her by. Orochimaru-sama had warned them all about the possibility that they might come into contact with the Kyūbi Jinchuriki. Orochimaru-sama himself had stated he'd be hesitant to tangle with her if she ever managed to tame the beast that rested within her.

But as far as the pinkette could see, she was nothing more than a little girl, even if the sharp muscles of her arms suggested she took her career a little more seriously than any of the others.

"Good to see you Naruto-chan, Kakashi."

Tayuya grimaced. Of course, the silver haired man had to be one of Konoha's most feared Jonin, as if enough hadn't gone wrong with this night. They'd also been briefed on that man, seeing as he was the Uchiha's Genin instructor. A highly respected, highly feared Jonin. But then, they were Orochimaru-sama's best ninja. They would be able to take the man, even if it took two of them to take him down. That just meant only one of them would get the chance to thrash Orochimaru-sama's new body and his doll of a teammate.

"Identify yourself." The older Uchiha, Uchiha Shisui, spoke in a cold tone, one hand already reaching for the strap on his back which held a worn looking tantō. Clearly well cared for, the man was evidentially quite proficient with it then.

"We are the Sound Four," Jirōbō sneered, prompting Tayuya to roll her eyes.

"You idiots decide which one you want, the brats are mine."

She'd leave them to the Jonin of Konoha, if she just so happened to be the only one to return with Orochimaru-sama's new body, then far be her to worry about her 'teammates'.

 

* * *

 

 

The pink haired intruder seemed confident she'd be able to tackle both himself and Naruto on her own. Though, they would probably need the extra person to deal with Kakashi and Shisui.

Grimacing, Sasuke once again laminated over the fact the Uchiha district was so far away from the centre of the Leaf village, and thus, out of the range that most ANBU patrolled at. In the past, that hadn't been a problem, because the Uchiha police force had been the ones to patrol these parts.

But now there was no police force to patrol with, and the ANBU had only changed their routes slightly, not enough that they'd notice what was going on over here. Especially with the Fūinjutsu work that masked most chakra, which had been a gift from the First Hokage's wife to the compound.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke ducked under the fist that came at his head, backing up and already well aware that the female was trying to drive both himself and Naruto back and away from their older, more experienced comrades. He didn't care though.

Together, he and Naruto had managed to take down Kabuto, and that had been when Naruto wasn't using the Kyuubi chakra. They could handle this measly girl by themselves.

Looking over at his blonde hair teammate, Sasuke suppressed a smirk at her lopsided ponytail. Since they'd returned to the village from looking for Tsunade, Naruto had developed what she had lovingly dubbed a 'distress seal'. He'd simply sent a pulse of chakra into the syntaxes, and it'd resonated in every matching seal within a mile radius.

Unfortunately, the only ones she'd managed to make a seal for so far were herself, Kakashi and Kiba. The latter of whom lived right on the other side of Konoha, and unfortunately, just outside of that mile radius.

Regardless, Sasuke had confidence in their teamwork, enough to take down one of Orochimaru's little pets that was.

"Uchiha!"

Looking up as the pink haired stranger addressed him, Sasuke instantly closed ranks with Naruto, the blonde haired girl copying the movement until they were in an easily defendable position. This just seemed to amuse the intruder more, as if they were nothing more than children to her.

Teeth clenched, Sasuke kept his eyes on her, well aware his Sharingan would be blazing bright in the dark.

"My name is Tayuya of the North Gate. Come with me, and Orochimaru-sama will give you strength."

Strength? Itachi had once hinted that he would need to kill the one closest to him to even hope to attain the same eyes that he held. But the person closest to him-

Naruto's face stared back at him over her shoulder, though she always kept this 'Tayuya' in sight. There was something in the depths of her eyes, something that seemed to recognise what was happening right now even more than he did. It was as if he were at a crossroads.

Orochimaru could give him power, Sasuke would concede to that. So could killing Naruto. So could training under Jiraiya.

Out of those three options though, only one was really acceptable.

Orochimaru's method would be quick, but it would mean betraying the village, leaving it and accepting tainted power. Corrupting power. And there was no promise that power was what he would receive should he follow this pink haired girl. Why would Orochimaru offer him power was the question, because he certainly wouldn't give it for nothing.

Sasuke wasn't about to go running in head first given that reasoning. As for killing Naruto-

He didn't even need to look at the girl to feel the weight of her gaze on him.

When they'd first met, he'd disliked her, then disliked the idea of her. Hadn't liked that she was so close to Kakashi and Shisui, the two people who were suppose to be helping him on his quest for power. But, he'd been wrong.

Together- they worked so well together. They'd grown strong when they spent a month in one another's company, they'd trained together, bled together; she was perhaps the person he felt closest to.

Shisui was family, and no one would replace him, but Shisui hadn't been there when Orochimaru had attacked, he hadn't been there when he'd had to confront Itachi again. Naruto had.

The idea of killing her, was completely unacceptable.

He wouldn't get power from Orochimaru, and he wouldn't get power using Itachi's methods either. He'd go his own way, he'd get his own power, and he'd beat Itachi using it. So really, there was only one option.

"Not a chance. Didn't you hear? Jiraiya of the Sannin is training the two of us, and now that your master can't use jutsu anymore, he's clearly nowhere near my standards."

That's what the toad sage had been implying these past few days, even on the way back from their little trip. He'd casually enquired how Sasuke felt about spy networks, had been teaching him a new fire jutsu. Had promised to teach him how to control natural energy. A force that Orochimaru was apparently unable to use himself, having experimented on his body for so long he'd become unable to handle it.

Really, the toad sage was the only one who would be able to give him the training he needed in reality. He'd be training with Naruto, whom he seemed to grow stronger alongside.

He'd been venomously against having one, but it still seemed like he'd ended up with a best friend. With the bright minded blonde girl, of all possibilities.

Tayuya snarled wordlessly from her position on the other side of the clearing, but Naruto's steady hand on his shoulder was all that he needed to know they were going to win this.

"I guess I'll just have to drag you to Orochimaru-sama then."

Snorting, Sasuke readied himself to attack.

No way in hell was that happening.

 

 

 

Ducking low as one of the… Creatures reached out to grasp for him, Sasuke lit his palm up with Chidori, the technique that Kakashi had taught him during that little training period before the Chũnin Exam final. To his right, he could hear the telltale whirl of Naruto's Rasengan as it began to tear through the flesh of their opponent, the flute playing Sound Nin swearing viciously at the motion.

They needed to take her out now, before she could summon any more creatures for them to fight. Though it appeared her endurance and speed was strengthened with this strange new stage of the curse seal, she had yet to engage them in hand to hand combat, avoided it as best she could actually. It was a distinctive weakness.

Grunting, Sasuke flicked a bit of chakra into the seal on his wrist, releasing the windmill shuriken that resided there, something he'd taken to carrying around everywhere since Wave. Though it wasn't until they returned from their mission to retrieve Tsunade that he'd started wearing seals on his wrists.

For now he only had two, the shuriken storage one and the magnificent punching one of Naruto's own creation, but for now, those were enough.

"Naruto!" He didn't need to say anything else, the blonde would know what to do now that he'd thrown the shuriken towards their enemy, watching in satisfaction as the young redhead leapt up and over the low flying shuriken to dodge.

She clearly wasn't expecting Naruto to substitute herself with the weapon, and in mid jump, was unable to do anything as Naruto ploughed her fist right into the girl's spine, sending her crashing to the floor.

It was a crushing blow, perhaps rupturing some organs, maybe even paralysing her from the waist down. Sasuke wasn't too picky, because it was obvious that their enemy wouldn't be getting back up.

Straightening from his crouch, Sasuke checked himself over for injuries, but it was only a broken upper arm, the right one this time. Thankfully, he was able to fix that on his own now, it'd only take him five minutes tops.

He didn't even get to start the hand seals though, because suddenly he had an armful of Naruto, her lithe arms, wrapped around his shoulders and her face buried in his neck.

He didn't doubt that she breathed a quiet thank you into his neck, but as he tightened his good arm around her waist, Sasuke wasn't too sure what she was so grateful for.

 

* * *

 

 

Stood with my arms wrapped around Sasuke's neck, I tried not to make it too obvious I was putting as much of my weight as I could on my left leg, in order to keep it from my right, which had seen the shin bone snapped like a twig at some point during our fight. Already I could feel the fox's chakra setting to work upon it, purring and whirling as it worked around the break in order to fix it right up. It'd be done in a quarter of an hour at most, but certainly not within the next five minutes.

And I honestly couldn't see Sasuke letting me hug him for such a length of time.

Swallowing down my pride, I began rummaging through the secret compartments within my pockets, withdrawing the chakra compression seals I always kept upon my person.

"You need to go slap this on her," I put the seal in question in Sasuke's hand, dropping down to sit down on the ground and whine over the throbbing pain that was my broken leg.

Thankfully, Sasuke did as asked, slapping the seal down on Tayuya's forehead before she could awaken, having no doubt passed out from the damage I'd done to her spine. Enough to paralysis her, but not enough to kill. No doubt the T&I department would be happy to see her, that I didn't doubt for a second.

"Guess I'm not the only one to break a bone this time, huh?"

Scowling up at Sasuke, I patted the grass beside me, well aware that neither of us were in fighting order. Kakashi and Shisui were highly skilled, both geniuses among their generation. I had no doubts that they'd be able to deal with the rest of the Sound Four.

"So," I began hesitantly, well aware of the pleasure that was bubbling in my stomach because- "you didn't go to Orochimaru."

Sat down beside me, Sasuke offered a duo of raised eyebrows, but nevertheless accompanied by a teasing smirk. He seemed, well, almost tired. But victorious, proud of what he'd accomplished tonight.

I'll admit, I'd panicked for a second when Tayuya had offered Sasuke Orochimaru's power. Even though I'd seen the change in him over the past few months, even though I'd seen him slowly accepting the fact Itachi and Orochimaru grew strong here and that he could too.

Even though he was my best friend, I'd still doubted him. I'd never felt more ashamed of myself, because Sasuke had stuck it out. It'd damage the timeline vastly, I'd have no idea what Orochimaru would be up to from here on out, seeing as Sasuke may never get the opportunity to 'kill' him, nor Itachi get to seal him.

But to know that I still had my best friend, my teammate and one of my most precious people, I think I was prepared to face anything and everything that came my way.

"No, I didn't," Sasuke mused quietly, green glow of medical chakra surrounding his arm and slowly setting the bone that he'd broken. I gave a twist of my ankle, cringing slightly at the pain, though lesser than before, that shot through my leg. Still a bit of time to go then.

Looking back over at Tayuya, a girl I'd now paralysed from the neck down, I glanced over at Sasuke for a second time before shuffling closer.

"Good choice?"

He paused for a second, looking at the downed Sound Nin before his lips twisted up in a tired, pleasant smile.

"Yes, the best choice."

Grinning, I took a careful hold of Sasuke's head and drew it to rest on my shoulder, wrapping one of my arms around his back as he copied the movement, allowing my head to rest on his.

I was tired, the fight had been more draining down I'd thought. Not chakra wise, but emotionally. The worry, the panic that Sasuke might say yes, that he might actually leave me and Kakashi and Shisui and Kiba behind had been almost overwhelmingly powerful.

But he hadn't and now that the adrenaline wasn't racing through my veins, I could appreciate just what had happened.

Sasuke hadn't left. maybe it was a fluke, maybe it was because Shisui was still alive, but the reason didn't really matter I guess. Sasuke had stayed. Sasuke had stayed in the Leaf village. He stayed.

"What are you smiling over?" Sasuke's quiet question drew my attention and I paused in my thoughts, turning to look at the dark haired boy and quite unable to help my grin expanding even more.

"Just thinking. You're my best friend, you know?" Sure Neji and I were close. But it was really that month trip to find Tsunade that'd really cemented it here. Sasuke was my best friend. Fighting against two members of the Akatsuki together, facing down Tsunade and then fighting Kabuto together, we'd really bonded. Jiraiya had confirmed he was going to be taking us both on as his last official students. We were both apprenticed under the same legendary ninja, even if we would be learning different things.

Not to say Kiba wouldn't get any training, if anyone could teach him some new tricks it was Kakashi, but for Sasuke and I, this was a special thing. Because I knew we'd be leaving the village soon, so no one would know where we were and wouldn't be able to target us as easily. Jiraiya would be defending us against Akatsuki and Orochimaru. And no doubt in that time we'd end up bonding even more. We'd have a working partnership, like those two Chũnin that often guarded the gates.

And oddly enough, I trusted Sasuke as much as I trusted Kakashi to look after me in battle.

"I know, you're my best friend too Naruto." We sat in silence for a bit longer, the sounds of the fight in the distance having halted.

"Just don't tell Shisui."

Snorting, I registered both Kakashi and Shisui flaring their chakra to let us know they'd won their fights, and neither of them were critically injured. It was by this point that my leg had finally finished healing, allowing me to stand, even if it was somewhat shakily.

"Alright then, help me lug our Guard of the Northern Gate to T&I."

 

 

 

We met up with Shisui and Kakashi not a minute later, each of them holding a bound and captive Sound Nin over their shoulders. What happened to the third one was pretty obvious, going by the huge blood stain that disappeared into the fauna just west of our meeting point. Together, the four of us had made our way over to T&I, Sasuke valiantly taking the weight of the prisoner from me and I spent the time on guard, just in case another Sound Nin popped up out of nowhere to attack us, unlikely as it was.

A part of me argued though that it was indeed a very real possibility, considering the fact we had yet to see head or tail of the bone guy. Kimimaro? I think that was his name at least. If I remember correctly, he was incredibly strong, the strongest of the Sound Four -Five?-, and it had taken both Gaara and Lee to beat him, and even then it was only because of the disease that had been eating away at his body. Did this mean we would still run into him in the future, or would sickness still steal him from the land of the living in a few short weeks? Questions, so many questions.

Jiraiya's spy network would hopefully mean we could keep track of Orochimaru's movements, but would we ever get a chance to take him down? That was another question to add to the ever growing list I guess, but it was something I could push to the back of my mind for now, I didn't need to worry over it right away. I just needed to focus on getting stronger right now, getting prepared for what was to come.

Clenching my fists, I looked over at the trio I was walking with. I needed to be strong enough to protect Shisui and Kakashi and Sasuke from the Akatsuki when they would inevitably strike. I needed to be strong enough to protect myself so they wouldn't have to.

These people, they hadn't been characters to me for ages now. They were as real as the friends I'd made in my previous life, if not more so. Because these guys loved harder, fought harder, trusted so much more than my old friends had.

They would quite literally die for me.

The bonds I'd made here, they were stronger than any I'd had in my previous life. It was strange, how this world was starting to seem like the reality and the one before it nothing more than a dream.

Chewing on my lip, I returned my attention to Kakashi as he casually strolled into the T&I department without so much as a blink, making his way past the ANBU on guard as if him bringing in prisoners was a regular occurrence these days. Well, considering we were still recovering from an attack by an enemy nation, maybe it was.

Frowning, I scratched at the back of my head, holding my hands out in an invitation to carry Tayuya's still form the rest of the way into the department. Sasuke handed her over with little fanfare, stretching his recently healed arm back and forth, offering me a small nod as he did so.

Lugging the mouthy red head up onto my shoulder, I turned on my heels, following after Kakashi deep into the bowels of T&I.

 

 

 

We didn't get to leave, surprisingly enough.

Oh, we'd been close, Shisui had even managed to make it out the front door. But two hands had swooped down upon us, grasping a fistful of fabric in each and hoisting both Sasuke and I up off our feet to dangle by material of our shirts.

"Greetings brats."

Pausing, I cocked my head back to see Jiraiya's grinning face, nose wrinkled up slightly under the force of his… Joy.

"Jiraiya-sensei?"

"Come on kiddo, we have three curse seals to mess around with. You too brat," giving Sasuke a shake to re-gather his attention -like he'd lost it or something- Jiraiya began to walk back into the building's depths, holding tight to our shirts, "you need to see what could have been. You know, had you not had such a smart little teammate and my fabulous self watching over you."

Behind me, I could hear Shisui give a low snort of amusement, but he nevertheless followed after us, whistling cheerfully as we went.

For a moment, I got the sense that we weren't the first genin that Jiraiya had manhandled everywhere. Considering the fact the veterans of T&I were watching with smug, wistful smiles on their face, I felt my conclusion was indeed a solid one. I'd long since learnt to stop fighting against older ninja's who seemed to think they could carry me wherever they wished. Sasuke was still struggling though, even if it'd degraded into an undignified little wiggle after more than a month on the road with the Toad Sage. Someday, in the hopefully not too distant future, we'd be able to escape the toad sages clutched.

Today, however, was not that day.

 

 

 

"So, they were crazy."

Twisting my neck back to get a better look at Shisui's face, I raised an eyebrow.

"No kidding," Sasuke grunted, looking over his shoulder, glancing back to the T&I department we'd just left from. The three remaining Sound Nin had been… Disturbing.

Once Yamanaka Inoichi, Ino's father, had finished rooting through their minds, both Jiraiya and I had been given the go ahead to do whatever we wanted regarding their seals. The Leaf had all the information we could get from them now, which meant they were not useful for a whole lot else, unless we counted all the money we'd waste on keeping them alive.

Tsunade had took some samples of their DNA and blood for her own studies, but then it'd just been Jiraiya and I in the room, Shisui and Sasuke safely behind the one way mirror as we went about studying the various stages of the curse seal.

Since I'd taken up this profession, my stomach had become something resembling steel, steady and hardly tempered to revolt against me.

I had to swallow back bile when Jiraiya managed to induce a tier of the curse seal that tore one of the males body's apart by turning his own chakra against it.

The final two had been turned to stone, Jiraiya getting a feel for how much natural energy the seal could absorb before breaking down. He'd made a quick note of the two numbers, factoring in the gender differences along with all the other variables. Chakra types, chakra quantities, blood types, any other information that could factor into Fūinjutsu was noted down.

Sasuke still looked a little green around the gills himself after witnessing that.

"Well, I think we can agree Orochimaru's version of the curse seal is bad. But your version brat!" Jiraiya's giant hand came down on Sasuke's small shoulder dwarfing it. Never before had the Sannin resembled a bear to me more than in that moment.

"Yours will be better, more fluid, and much less damaging. Two little sages for Konoha!"

Jiraiya second paw- hand, a hand no matter how big it was- came down on my head and ruffled the blonde locks. As expected, the hair tie I'd been using all month broke under the strain, the last to die and I watched it flutter to the floor with something resembling sadness. I had a feeling I was going to have to learn to fight with my hair unbound, because it appeared Jiraiya wasn't going to stop ruffling my hair any time soon.

"Are you really taking Sasuke on this training venture too?" Shisui asked, head tilting to a side and- and was that a pout? Blinking in surprise, I stared a bit more at the older Uchiha, mouth popping open as an closer inspection confirmed what I was seeing. Shisui was pouting. Quite magnificently too.

Wow.

Could Sasuke pull that face? He'd have no trouble working information out of people if he could. From the contemplation on Jiraiya's face, he was thinking the same thing too.

"I am. Naruto'll need someone to train with, and no one else will be able to help the brat with that seal on his neck. So be grateful that the magnificent Jiraiya is taking you under his wing brat!"

"Wing? I thought you were a toad sage?"

Jiraiya's fist bopped against Sasuke's skull, almost sending him face first into the dirt, but he managed to recover magnificently.

"Quiet brat. We meet at the main gate and six in the morning. Don't be late."

And then he was gone, no doubt to badger the snake summoning scroll from Anko. Blinking, the three of us share a look before I shrugged my shoulders.

"Looks like I'll be sealing up my house then. Do you need me to slap any seals over the Uchiha compound?"

Shisui and Sasuke shared a look, before the elder shrugged.

"Not really Kaichō-chan, I'll be nice and safe while you two are off learning Jiraiya-sama's perverted ways."

Snorting, I rolled my eyes, before offering a casual wave as we split off to our respective homes. There was nothing in the manga regarding the training trip with Jiraiya. None that I could remember anyway.

Looks like I was going to be winging it from here.


	12. Passage of Time

 

 

 Everything got packed away with brutal efficiency. And when I say everything, I mean, everything.  

Anything that could help us on the road, anything that would be useful in the slightest, got sealed away into one scroll, while furniture, books and other important things that were suitable for the road, were packed up and moved into the sealed vault of the Uchiha compound. Sasuke was kind enough to open up its services for that at least.

Anything that wasn't fitted to the walls of my house was sealed away, because really, I just didn't trust the population as much as a probably should have done. With my childhood, that was kind of a given.

I wasn't Naruto, and I was done pretending to be. If I wanted to be paranoid on a level that would probably level even ninja from the Clan Wars jealous, then paranoid I would be.

Sasuke had watched me go about my shuffling of the furniture with an amused tilt to his lips, Shisui stood behind him and snacking on the occasional dango.

"Got everything Kaichō-chan?"

Glaring over at Shisui, I pursed my lips as he burst into laughter, Sasuke chuckling along beside him, not quite full out laughter but shoulder shaking mirth. Good enough for me.

"Yes, I've got everything, thank you very much."

It was strange to think I was leaving the Leaf. Oh sure, I'd left for missions before, but I'd never been gone more than three months. Certainly not for the two plus years that Jiraiya was taking us away for.

"Oh, my little ducklings are grown up!"

Shisui's arm came down around my shoulders before I could stop it, dragging me flushed against both his body and Sasuke's, face compressed against his shoulder with just enough pressure that my eyes watered, nose uncomfortably acquainted with Shisui's collar bone.

Groaning, I patted at Shisui's back, trying not to let the tears that were gathering at the corner of my eyes fall.

They were only there because Shisui was making a valiant effort to break my nose with sheer force. I wasn't emotional or anything.

 

 

 

I fell asleep in Shisui's guest room, which he'd been kind enough to lend me for the night, considering I'd sealed my house off for the next few years. No one would be getting in or out now, not without my permission anyway.

Appearing once again in my mindscape, I slipped between the bars of the Kyūbi's cage with what was fast becoming a casual ease, the water rippling only slightly beneath my bare feet. Kurama was curled up inside, huge fluffy tails pulled around his giant form with his two front paws tucked neatly under his jaw.

One large red eye did slide open as I approached, watching my every movement as I came to a stop a respectable distance before him and sat myself down.

"I figured that maybe we should make a game plan. Or well, I'd like to make a game plan and you're a hell of a lot older and thus, wiser, than I am, so I was kinda hoping I'd be able to run a few things by you?"

The second eye slid open now, Kurama adjusting his position so he could actually see my tiny form completely, instead of having to squint past his muzzle to do so.

" **Well, you're not as stupid as the rest of your kind, coming to me for help,** " Kurama snorted, one huge tail sweeping back around him, the resulting displacement of air nearly knocking me on my back.

Hands clenched around the water's surface, grip tight with chakra, I offered up a sheepish smile, running a hand through my unbound hair.

"There's a lot at stake here, I can't afford to get it wrong." So very true.

In the manga, it'd been a series of lucky guesses, and sheer willpower that'd gotten Naruto to the end point, to the winning goal.

"It all boils down to Zetsu, the creature that Kaguya made and embedded her will into. It's been manipulating things from the background for centuries, setting the stage for her return."

The fox snarled, the sound sending a rumble through the metal patchwork of my mindscape and successfully throwing me back this time. Squeaking in surprise, I scrambled back into a sitting position as Kurama readjusted himself, eyes narrowed.

With thought or annoyance, or both, I wasn't too sure.

" **And how did things go in this, 'manga'?** "

"The Spirit of the Sage of the Six Paths visited from the Pureworld and divided his powers between the Naruto and Sasuke, whom were the spiritual reincarnations and descendants of his two sons. Which could be a problem, because I am obviously not the second son."

Gesturing down to myself, I grimaced, rubbing the tips of my fingers into the aching skin of my forehead. It was giving me a headache just thinking about it, but so much rested on this.

I did not want to fight a goddess, not if it was avoidable.

Which meant I needed to stop Madara and Obito from casting the Mangekyō thingamabob on the moon. Easier said than done. Zetsu, even though he didn't have a Sharingan personally, was the biggest problem. Because he was a physical representation of Kaguya's will, he'd keep trying to bring her back. He needed to be dealt with. But the only problem was-

"I don't know if Zetsu can be killed. The black half, the important part, anyway. Naruto and Sasuke of the manga sealed him up with Kaguya, and I'd really like to avoid fighting her if I can get away with it."

Kurama snorted, rolling his eyes skywards but there was a seriousness to his expression that'd been absent before. He was taking me seriously, every word I said.

" **You study seals don't you? Create something that would be sufficient, you stupid ningen. If your kind can create something to bind me, that abomination shouldn't be too hard.** "

Nodding slowly, I worried my lip between my teeth, trying to mull over the idea of a seal that'd put Zetsu forever out of reach. Something similar to the moon thing that held its creator would work. It'd take a while to figure out, but I had at least two years, and was confident I could figure something out.

" **And the Uchihas.** " It wasn't a question, so much as a statement, almost a dare in fact.

Stumbling to my feet, I took to pacing in front of Kurama, never walking far enough that I'd be out of his line of sight, but enough of a walk that his eyes actually had to move about in his head to track me.

"Obito's being used. As far as I can tell, Madara or Zetsu manipulated him to witness Rin's death. If they set that death up or not, well, I'm about ninety percent certain they did. Come on, out of all the Konoha forces, Kiri just so happens to pick the one on Obito's team? When such an event would emotionally destroy Obito? No chance of it being a coincidence. We need to break that conditioning somehow, but I'm not good at word like the original Naruto, I can't talk someone into giving up. So I'll focus on incapacitating him, I'd rather like to avoid killing anyone that's realistically redeemable. Which just leaves Madara."

Kurama snarled, ears flat against his skull and two tails lashed at the water, sending huge waves rolling around the room. Riding out the disturbances, I waited until the surface had calmed, adjusting my chakra where necessary.

"We need to stop him from getting resurrected. Which means taking down Kabuto as soon as we get a chance. Orochimaru too, they're the ones that know that jutsu, and as far as I'm aware, no one else knows how to work it. Battling an undead Madara is on my 'I never want to do this' list, right up there with fighting it out with Kaguya. Those are the three major concerns I think."

Running a hand through my hair, I paused in my pacing, turning to look at Kurama.

"Anything to add?"

" **Figure out the seal to contain the abomination. Then we'll talk battle plans.** "

Nodding, I offered the giant fox a slight wave acknowledgement and let my mind fall into true sleep.

 

 

 

We left from the main gate together, the both of us with our packs, my own full of scrolls and anything essential I might not have the time to unseal, and Sasuke's probably in the same condition. I had supplied him with a fair share of storage scrolls after all, it's not like either of the two Uchiha's were short.

Both Kiba and Shisui had put in a herculean effort to see Kakashi not only present, but on time to wave us off. It'd been a very, very strange thing, difficult to ignore for sure.

Sasuke and I had shared a look before turning our startled gaze on Kakashi.

"Maa, my little students are all growing up, running off out into the big bad world… Or begging for extra training."

Kiba grunted, not even looking slightly abashed that Kakashi had called him out on it.

"Take care of yourself Kakashi-nii!" Jumping, I snatched the older ninja up in a tight hug, my arms circled around his neck and legs curled around his lower torso. Like a little orange and blonde limpet. After a hesitant second, Kakashi's arms came to wrap around my own waist.

"Maa, you too Kaichō-chan, you too."

Behind me, I could almost hear Jiraiya's eye roll, but I was going to get as much out of this hug as I can. I wouldn't be seeing him for a long while. And considering he'd been a constant for more than half my life now, the idea felt very strange indeed.

"Hey, where's my hug?" Kiba's arms were wiggling between myself and Kakashi in the next instant, cold nose pressing into the soft skin of my neck and I fond snort of annoyance left my lips.

"Oh, how could I forget?" I would never forget. I might not be as close to Kiba as I was Sasuke, but he was still my teammate, still a member of Team Seven. One of my precious people, as a wise ninja had once said.

Inhaling their scents for what could be the last time in a good few years, I held on tighter. Wet dog, the crackle of ozone, the dew of the leaves, it all mixed together in my head, forever linked to the feel of Kakashi and Kiba's arms.

"Alright, enough of that."

A hand clamped down on the material of my shirt, pulling me back and out of the group hug, even as my hands flailed to attempt to reaffirm my hold.

"We've got a schedule to keep and people to meet," Jiraiya grumbled, sending Sasuke a significant look. Something to do with the spy network perhaps? I wasn't too sure if that was what Jiraiya was really handing over, but I would be the first to admit I didn't have the mindset to organise such a thing.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Needlessly adjusting the straps of my bag one last time, I spun around to get a better look at Kakashi and Kiba and Shisui, who all stood by the gate, each giving a wave of their hands that varied for impressively cheerful if a bit upset -Kiba- to lazy well-wishing -Kakashi-.

I was going to miss them, I realized. More than I'd thought I would have done. True we were leaving the village to get stronger, to grow as ninjas. It was essential to the future that we did this.

But, it was still painful. Writing letters just wouldn't be the same as being able to turn up on Kakashi's doorstep and pull him out for training, for going to play with the Inuzuka hounds with Kiba and baking sweets for Shisui. Over the past few years, they'd become my family, mine. I'd put down roots in this life, solid, thick roots. And I was unhappy to be walking away from them, to stay away for so long.

But in order to get strong enough to protect them, then that is what I would do.

Swallowing, I looked over at Sasuke, who shot one last glance back at Shisui before grim determination set over his face, mirroring my own.

"Okay Jiraiya-sensei, make a ninja out of me."

 

 

 

We travelled. For the first month, Jiraiya had us building out chakra levels and our control, though Sasuke was more the former and I the latter, through a series of chakra exercises. Silly stuff such as being made to stick pebbles all over our skin, or hang from the hotel ceiling solely by our elbows. That'd been hard, and very uncomfortable. We'd had to entertain ourselves by kicking at the other.

Until we decided to tag team Jiraiya that was. The man had said we were done with that exercise once he'd taken a third kick to the shoulder.

The baby.

Now sat in the hotel room with Sasuke by my side, halfway through writing a  letter, I paused, finally noticing what had flagged my senses with it's wrongness.

"What is this?"

Tugging at the tiny ponytail that'd spawned into existence at the top of Sasuke's head, I couldn't have wiped the bemused smile from my lips if I tried. I'd thought his bangs had been getting a little long, and it turned out he hadn't been cutting the rest of his hair either, especially if he could scrape it back into this baby ponytail.

I hadn't any idea why this new hairstyle was present though, because for as long as I remember if the strands of Sasuke's hair got long enough they'd stop defying gravity and start brushing against the tender skin upon the back of his neck he'd start chopping at it. It drove him mad.

"A ponytail," Sasuke snapped, swatting my hand away as I went to tug at it again.

"Why?"

Here, a light blush dusted across Sasuke's cheeks as he turned to look at Jiraiya, my own gaze following after.

"Actually  I was only planning to just teach those to Naruto, they don't really fit in with your fighting style. By the time you've grown your hair out long enough, it'll be difficult to incorporate it in."

There was a momentarily lull in the noise, before Sasuke tore the hair tie from his head and threw it at me.

"Thank god, that ponytail was driving me mad," he hissed, ruffling a hand through his hand and a laugh broke through my lips, kunai appearing in hand.

"Come here, I'll trim it for you." Sasuke didn't hesitate per say, but he did send a shifty glance at the kunai I'd pulled out. He didn't seem to realize I'd been trimming my own hair since the tender age of six years old.

Pushing down on Sasuke's shoulder so the boy dropped into a sitting position, I knelt behind him, running my fingers through his dark locks before gathering up a small amount in one hand.

"I promise one side won't end up longer than the other."

Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes, but he remained perfectly still as I went about cutting his hair. Six, near seven years of learning to cut my own hair -well, a shadow clone did it, but that was practically the same thing- meant there was no chance I'd be getting this wrong.

Short black strands fluttered down the curve of Sasuke's back, coming to rest on the wooden floor of the hotel, and I made a mental note to clear that up before we left. Jiraiya was quiet, only the quick scribble of his pencil against notepaper let me know he'd been hit with literature inspiration so quickly he couldn't afford the time it took to wait for the ink to dry, and had instead snatched up his trusty pencil and notebook.

Tilting Sasuke's head to a side, I went about fixing the bangs that framed his face, inspecting the short strands that were hanging ever so slightly over his forehead.

"Do you want to grow out a bit of a fringe, or not?"

The Uchiha frowned, weighing up his options.

"Yes," he murmured slowly,  sticking two chopsticks to his hand with chakra and slowly rotating them about his palm, "I'll keep the fringe."

"Right then."

 

 

 

Once Sasuke's hair was finished, the two of us had sprawled out across the bedding, Jiraiya having left us, no doubt for  the Red Light District.

Laid out on my belly, head twisted to a side to keep Sasuke in my sights, I let out a loud sigh, reaching for the bowl of berries that'd been placed between us. Wrapping my fingers around a strawberry, I popped it into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

Sasuke was stretched out on his back, one arm supporting his head and looking more and more like a lazy cat basking in the sun. Well, the moon in this case.

"Ever thought you'd end up getting a Sanin to teach you?"

Sasuke blinked slowly, rolling his head to a side slightly and popping several blueberries into his mouth.

"No. Glad I did though. At least he's got a rough idea what to do with the snakes."

Being Orochimaru's former teammate, Jiraiya had met up with a good many of the snake summons throughout his life. After Sasuke had signed the contract Anko had summon up just before we'd left, he'd been practicing summoning the creatures whenever he had a moment's spare. The constant use was slowly increasing his reserves, even if he wasn't quite at the stage where he could summon the snake boss yet. Probably wouldn't be for a year or so, by Jiraiya's estimations.

"Did they have much to say on Sage Mode?"

Sasuke grunted, which I took for a yes. Jiraiya was planning to finish tweaking the curse seal by the end of the month, and I was waiting until then so that I could begin badgering him for my own training regarding Sage Mode. It would mean a great deal of stress off my shoulders if I could already use it before the next big events began. That way, I wouldn't be rushed to learn it to go against Pein.

Not that I was planning on only having that sole card up my sleeve. I wanted to be able to use Kyūbi chakra mode too, but if I Kurama and I managed to figure things out by then was the question.

We were on good terms, but I hadn't approached him about using some of his power in fights beforehand yet, not since Orochimaru. And we all know how well that went. I didn't want him to think I was using him for his power though.

Well, I kind of was, but I didn't want our relationship to be just about keeping each other safe. I wanted to be friends.

I wanted to learn from him. Kurama had lived throughout all the history of this world since the Sage of the Six Paths. He probably had so much to talk about, so much to say, it made the historian in my thrum with excitement.

"We need to get stronger."

Sasuke's voice broke me from my thoughts, head snapping over to look at the Uchiha who was staring up at the ceiling, fingers intertwined and hands resting atop his stomach. He'd snatched up a pillow to support his head, the short little strands of the fringe he'd decided to grow a striking contrast against his pale skin.

"Akatsuki is collecting the Bijū, and all that power together, it can't be a good thing."

"Like world domination bad," I breathed, watching as Sasuke nodded, still refusing to remove his gaze from the ceiling.

"He's one of them… I need to get stronger to stand a chance."

I assume I wasn't suppose to hear that last part, so I just gave a low yawn, twisted my head and nuzzling deep into the fluff of my pillow.

"Good night, Sasuke."

"Night, Naruto."

 

* * *

 

 

Kiri was a very impressive village. The buildings were made of stone, with copious amounts of green growing all over the place. It looked like a city that'd been left for nature to reclaim it. I could already think of several advantages off the top of my head as to why they'd keep so many plants, bushes, moss and grass all over the place. The shinobi that moved across the village were like the mist they lived in, leaving no footprints in the vegetation as they went about their day. Clearly with some form of chakra exercise, but what, I didn't know. Not something I'd learnt, and perhaps it belonged solely to Mist itself.

Stood beside Sasuke, I accepted the forms the gate guard offered, scribbling my name in all the appropriate places and then handing half of them back over.

It'd been a year since we'd left Konoha, and now at the age of fourteen, I was starting to feel more and more comfortable in my skin. The soft curves of womanhood were coming on fast and strong now, leaving me with rounded hips and breasts that could no longer be hidden beneath a baggy shirt.

My height on the other hand, had seen little improvement, and I didn't' have much hope for making it more than three or four inches past five foot. That was if I grew any more from now on. For the moment, I stood at five foot one, and the prospect of reaching the five and a half feet I'd managed in my previous life was looking bleak.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had shot up like a bean sprout these past few months. Where before, back when we'd left the village we'd been the same height, he was now a good three inches taller, and took every opportunity he could to make sure I knew it.

Besides Jiraiya's six foot two frame however, we both still looked like little children.

"Uzumaki Naruto? Jiraiya of the Sannin?" The gate guard rubbed at his chin, inspecting some kind of list before a smile lit up his face.

"Mizukage-sama is expecting you. Aoshi will show you to her office." He gestured to the young man that was sat just a bit behind him, who'd shot to attention the second his name was mentioned.

Between us, Jiraiya grinned wildly, hands coming down to clamp upon our shoulders. It was a protective gesture.

While a few Leaf ninja had passed through Kiri, visiting the Mizukage before today, we were the first politically heavy nin to be welcomed inside. As the last of the Uchiha Clan and the Kyūbi Jinchuriki, we were all but feed before the pigs.

Only Jiraiya's presence was our assurance that nobody would try anything.

Not that I expected Mei to do such a thing. She'd just gotten out of one civil war. I highly doubted she'd want to go to the effort of fighting a war with Konoha and Sand -because Sand were still very much our allies, thank you very much- on the off chance she could contain both myself and Sasuke.

More myself, because Mist didn't have too many ninja knowledgeable in Fūinjutsu -thank you Jiraiya's spy network- and they certainly didn't have a Seal Master.

Nor a spare Uzumaki lying around they could seal the Nine Tails into.

We were probably safe, it was still a risk to be here, but the lowest risk yet one could be under when visiting another hidden village.

"Come along Little Leaf Ninja," Aoshi grumbled, sticking one hand in his pocket and making his way down what was obviously the main street. There were far less shops here than in Konoha, sometimes it was easy to forget we had the biggest civilian population.

"Mizukage-sama will no doubt want a little chat with the three of you."

That probably shouldn't have sounded as ominous as it did.

 

 

 

Mei's office was a thing of beauty. It looked like a jungle in there, with all sorts of exotic plants growing in the corners, hanging down from the ceiling and tumbling out of the windows like a series of leafy green waterfall.

Behind us, Jiraiya let out a low, impressed whistle, eyes slowly roaming around the room and cataloguing what was no doubt a great many exit routes, hazards and points of interest. Eight exits, fifty seven hazards and thirty three points of interest by my count, but no doubt Jiraiya's numbers would all be higher.

Even Sasuke had raised an impressed brow, inspecting the room with the collected calm of a stranger in a foreign land.

"Naruto-chan!" The sound of Mei's sultry voice drew my attention instantly, and a blush rose to my cheeks as the Mizukage laid a kiss on each one in greeting.

"And your cute little teammate," she all but purred, giving Sasuke the same greeting and leaving two pink lipstick stains on his face, almost hidden by the furious flush of his cheeks.

"Do I get the same greeting, Your Loveliness?" Jiraiya asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows, prompting a laugh from Mei, who nevertheless repeated her greeting for a third time.

Eyes rolling, I sat quietly in one of the chairs when Mei gestured for the rest of us to sit. She was calm behind her large desk, papers spread across its surface but all face down, leaving us unable to read any information at all. Wise.

"So, Hime-chan sent me to negotiate the trade route, you said you've got a brattling that wants to meet up with these two?" Haku.

Straightening in my chair, a sheepishly smile crossed my face as Mei laughed.

"Indeed. Haku-chan is on his way, in fact…"

She trailed off as a body shot through the window, coming to a stop so graceful that it was certainly enviable in those wooden getas. Bright brown eyes landed on the two of us and Haku smiled, once proving just how striking his face looked when I ended up taking a moment to appreciate it.

"Naruto-chan, Sasuke-san, it is good to see you. Mizukage-sama informed me that I was allowed to be your tour guide during your visit."

Picking up on the undercurrent of Jiraiya and Mei had something important to talk about and we had to leave, I stood up, Sasuke following but a second after.

"Sure, I'm looking forwards to trying some food over on your islands."

Haku laughed, gesturing to follow him as he took off out the window again. Saluting Jiraiya and offering the Mizukage a bow, I took off after the boy, Sasuke but a second behind.

 

 

 

Haku led us down a simple enough path, taking caution to stay away from the moss and stick to the uncovered stone, clearly accounting for the fact we were unused to such terrain. Or rather, unclear on how to handle such terrain without leaving any evidence of our passing behind.

Haku landed neatly on the cobbled main street, the sharp click of his getas meeting the stone ringing out in comparison to the muffled thump of our worn sandals. A few Kiri ninja looked over at us with curious eyes, especially when they took in the insignia of our headbands, but upon seeing our guide, they carried about their day.

"I work primarily with Mei-sama," Haku explained, forefinger and thumb stroking at the long ink of his hair, "because of our kekkei genkais, you see? They know that if I am with you, you are to be trusted."

The silent 'for now' echoed through the air, Sasuke glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

"Well if you're working with the Mizukage herself then you must have a good pay check."

Sasuke instantly knew where I was going with this, but Haku's kind eyes didn't seem to even register what was about to happen. The poor sucker.

"I am a Jonin, Naruto-chan, so yes, I do have a good wage."

"Great! Then you can treat us to dinner."

The look on Haku's face was comical, his eyes round and mouth popping ever so slightly open. But he recovered admirably and gave a slight nod, conceding defeat.

"I do know a place that serves good sushi." And like that, dinner was decided.

 

 

 

Sat neatly in a booth at the little restaurant just off main street that Haku had led us to, I shifted slightly in my seat, running my toes up Sasuke's calf and full out snorting when he jumped in response. Dark eyes gave me an unamused glare, the petulant frown only making his expression that much funnier. Haku returned with the food he'd gone to order, which was a bit of a cultural shock.

In the Leaf, we had waiters and waitresses that did that, but here in Mist, apparently you went up to the bar and ordered the food, and it only got brought to you if it was warm and took a few minutes to cook. As such, Haku was back with sushi before a minute had even passed.

The seventeen year old slid effortlessly into the space I'd left open by my side, Sasuke sat across from the two of us. Quick to accept his food from Haku, the Uchiha eagerly broke his chopsticks apart, hovering over three different kinds of fish before finally deciding to try the pink looking thing first.

"We don't get to eat much fish back home. I mean, we do have the kind that swim about in rivers, but not the abundance that you have access to, being so close to the sea as you are. Nothing like this," I gestured pointedly with the sushi held between my chopsticks, "no fresh, exotic fish for us. God, this is a treat."

Popping the sushi into my mouth, I chewed thoughtfully, enjoying the strange flavours that danced over my tongue. Though he didn't say anything, the fact that Sasuke popped another bite into his mouth was as obvious a compliment as anything verbal coming from his mouth would have been.

"It was very strange to come to Konoha and see how much red meat you have," Haku murmured, building up a little tower composed of three sushi, which he effortlessly balanced between his chopsticks, "cattle like that does not cope well in the climate here, so we are always a bit short. The fish does make up for it though," Haku winked, looking more relaxed than I'd ever really seen him.

He looked at home here. He'd fit with Zabuza, but there, he'd just been an addition. Here, it was like he belonged in Mist. I'd been right to suggest he go looking for Mei.

Haku was my first big success in that case. The Naruto of the manga hadn't been able to save him, but I had. It was through my actions that he'd been given a chance for a better life, and  Haku had grabbed hold of it with both hands.

A smile stretched across my face as I listened to Haku describe a mission he'd been on to the two of us, probably one of the few he could actually talk about. He confirmed that he'd returned to Zabuza's grave already, retrieving his sword on the new Mizukage's orders, and informed his mentor of Mei's plans to begin the Seven Swordsmen anew.

"Mei-sama was hoping that Jiraiya-dono would be kind enough to assist me on a mission to retrieve Kiba, one of the seven swords, from Raiga. She would be willing to allow him to claim the bounty as long as we walk away with the sword."

Well, that sounded interesting. Rubbing at the corners of my jawline with one hand, the other chasing after a piece of sushi that was threatening to roll away, I let my gaze fall back over to Haku and a grin slowly light up my face.

"Well I hope Jiraiya-sensei agrees, because I'd quite like the three of us to work together."

"And we can have a rematch once the mission's complete," Sasuke mused, placing his used chopsticks down on his plate and pushing the empty crockery to the centre of the table, to indicate he'd most certainly finished his meal. As if the fact he hadn't even left a single grain of rice wasn't enough.

"I would enjoy that Sasuke-san."

 

 

 

As it turned out, Jiraiya clearly saw some kind of advantage in taking this mission, because the next day when Haku was showing up the rather beautiful creek that ran just outside of the village walls, he appeared with a mission scroll in hand and a huge grin on his face.

Now it was a week later, and the four of us were closing in on Katabami Gold Mine, a mining town in the Land of Rivers. Otherwise known as Kurosuki Raiga's last known location.

"What are we getting out of this?"

Even though we'd been training and travelling at the same time, we'd not actually stopped to discuss just what we were getting as a reward. Oh sure, Haku had pointed out that we could keep the reward money from bringing Mei Raiga's severed head, but other than that?

"Better relations with Mist. With the threat of the Akatsuki, such a thing will only do us good in the long run, both our villages," Jiraiya explained with a significant look towards Haku, who simply gave a pleasant nod, the only evidence he was travelling at all being the small messenger bag he carried a spare pair of clothes in. I couldn’t even begin to guess how many senbon he had hidden on his person. What with the baggy shit and the loose fitting kimono. He certainly had some kind of poisons and paralysing drugs on him, I could smell it. But differentiate between them? Not so much.

"But also? Sweet Mei-chan has promised me another kiss."

"Hopefully one that will make you melt," I grumbled under my breath, startling a laugh out of Haku and a frown from Sasuke. Of course, the Uchiha wasn't in the know on exactly how Mei's blood limits worked, just that she could throw lava around like most ninja did shuriken.

"Most of Mei-sama's kekkei genkai works through her mouth," Haku informed Sasuke, provoking a smirk form my companion. It was interesting after all. And a very, very dangerous kekkei genkai.

While I could probably heal whatever skin she'd managed to burn off me in a fight, no other ninja would be able to. Well, maybe one of the other Jinchuriki, I wasn't too sure.

"Sounds like fun."

"You're just upset that your Sharingan works through your eyes and you've got no excuse to kiss anyone."

Sasuke scowled, lobbing a kunai my way, which I caught with ease and parried back to him.

"If I wanted to kiss anyone idiot, I wouldn’t have to make excuses," catching the kunai as easily as I had, Sasuke flicked it towards Haku, starting a lazy game of ninja catch.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you the only one here who's never kissed a girl?"

There was a pause between the three males as they all assessed what I'd just said and a blush burned at my cheeks.

"Tenten got a bit enthusiastic when I let her practice her accuracy with my clones okay?"

Jiraiya's loud giggle let me know exactly how 'okay' that was with him. Sasuke's scowl deepened that little bit more while Haku blinked, curious eyes turning towards me as he caught the kunai without looking. Not that such a thing was really difficult.

"Do you like girls, Naruto-chan?"

"I'm not picky. I like a person, then I like a person. Doesn't matter what gender they are… I mean, I'd like to have kids when I'm older, but there's options for that if I settle down with a girl right?"

Shrugging and suddenly very uncomfortable with the way the conversation had turned to focus on me, I caught the kunai and then threw it at Jiraiya, following up by throwing one of my own towards Sasuke so that there were two in play.

"More importantly, how are we going to handle Raiga? He's a lightning type, right? And wind is, not so good with lightning." Both Haku and myself were wind types. Well, Haku was water and wind, but it wasn't like water would be as much help against lightning. Wind was strong against lightning, but that didn't mean we'd have the advantage.

"I'm gonna let you kids go at it, if Raiga goes down without me getting involved, you can split the money between the three of you."

We exchanged sly looks.

As a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Raiga had a very good bounty on his head. Taking him down would not only do wonders for our reputations, but for our bank accounts too.

"Done. If you don't help take Raiga down, we get to split the money."

 

 

 

As it turned out, we didn't need Jiraiya's help to take down Raiga. At all.

Because a mountain of a man was already wailing on the Nuke-Nin by the time we got there.

The four of us had skidded to a stop, staring in blatant shock, as the most physically imposing man I'd ever seen -he was even taller than Jiraiya. Like, a whole head taller- and he was handling Raiga like a pro.

My eyes were wide as I watched the man in dull red armour bat a small lump from Raiga's back, and it was only after several seconds that I realized that lump was, in actual fact, a person.

Blinking in surprise, I turned to look at my companions, to see if they had any idea what was going on. But they seemed just as shock as me.

Still, apparently we had a friend who had a grudge against Raiga, and while the huge human seemed to have the advantage in the fight, I wasn't going to leave anything to chance.

Dashing up the rock of the mountain side, I ducked under a lightning bolt that'd gone wild, summoning up a duo of shadow clones to cover me. One got hit almost right away with a swipe of the sword Raiga was using, which had to be Kiba.

"Another for a funeral?" Raiga growled, only just ducking a fire attack from the mountain of a man beside me, his blue eyes switching rapidly between the two of us.

"What are you doing?"

The deeper, scarier voice came from the man in the red armour, steam coiling out from some kind of device that rested on his back. Something tickled at the back of my consciousness, and my brow crinkled, looking the man over once again. The fact he was two feet taller than me was all I could focus on for a second, though I really should know him. The thought was just out of reach though.

' **For Sage's sake,** ' Kurama's growl tore through my mind as I dodge another bolt of lightning, Sasuke catching it from somewhere behind the two of us and redirecting it, ' **he's a Jinchuriki too, you idiot.** '.

"You're a Jinchuriki?" I blurted out, the memory finally slamming into me. The steam dude! He was either the four tails or the five tails, I couldn’t quite remember. What I did know was that-

"Aren't you from Iwa?"

Iwa nin, that was several different shades of not good. My fellow Jinchuriki snarled, throwing a mightily impressive punch that seemed to be empowered by the steam that shot from the thingamabob on his back. His fist whistled through the air and met Raiga's body with an impressive sounding thump, sending the Missing Nin rocketing back. Towards Sasuke, who'd positioned himself just perfectly to draw his sword back and slice clean through Raiga's neck.

The severed head kept rolling as the body dropped to the floor, limbs still twitching from the lightning Sasuke coated his sword him. In the five of us paused for a second, Haku assessing Raiga's body and the Kiba still enclosed in his fists, while Jiraiya's eyes landed on my fellow Jinchuriki and narrowed.

It wasn't until I took in the armoured man that I realized he was still glaring coolly down at me. The kind of predator-prey glare. But I wasn't prey here, and I really didn't want to be a predator if I could help it.

So the human route it was.

Sticking my hand out, I grinned up at the man.

"Hi, my names Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails."

There was a momentary pause, and I didn't dare turn around, almost sure that Jiraiya and Sasuke would be gaping at me. Maybe even Haku now that I think about it. While my Jinchuriki status was common knowledge around Konoha after the whole Chũnin Exams business, and that information had no doubt made it's rounds across the Elemental Nations by now, this was my first time introducing myself as I was.

And I wasn't ashamed. Kurama was my friend now, and it was for that exact reason I didn't introduce myself as 'Kurama's Jinchuriki'.

He had only told me his name, and until he said otherwise, I wouldn’t go blurting it out. The Iwa ninja paused, brown eyes narrowing slightly before they softened. If I wasn't looking for it, I'd never have noticed But soften they did.

 "Han. The Five Tails."

The Jinch- Han turned to look over at my companions, eyes impassive, before he turned his gaze back to me, and I found myself wishing desperately that I knew something, anything at all, about the man in front of me.

"And what brings you here then?"

"Raiga. We came to take him down and collect his bounty. But running into you is a stroke of luck."

"Oh?" Han titled his head to a side, arms folding across his wide chest and looking even more imposing than before. If such a thing was actually possible.

A little bit -well, maybe a lot- flummoxed how effortless it seemed for Han, I shifted from foot to foot, well aware I'd never be physically imposing. Sunshine blonde hair kind of killed that idea before I could even build on it.

"Yeah. Listen, there's a group of S-ranked ninja running around and their aim is to capture all the Bijū. Capture and extract them." 

Han frowned behind his red armour, eyebrows puckering.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame came after me a year or so ago, and it was only because Jiraiya-sensei was there that they didn't get me. Just- Just be careful, okay?"

Looking up at Han, who's wide brown eyes stared down at me with something incomprehensible in them, I forcibly swallowed around the lump in my throat.

"If you see any of the others, can you warn them too? I think the Four Tails was with Iwa, right?"

Han nodded, ever so slow. Just the slightest dip of his head really.

"You may keep the body, Kyuu-chan."

And then he was gone in a whirl of boiling steam, leaving nothing but a pair of wide, heavy footprints in the rock to prove he'd been there at all.

Blinking slowly, I turned back around to see Jiraiya frowning, and Haku testing the way Kiba sung through the air as he whipped them back and forth.

 

 

 

As it turned out, the little lump of human Raiga had been carrying was a boy called Ranmaru, and he wasn't that much younger than us.

It only took a bit of thinking on Jiraiya's part -a lot less time was spent on decision making when the boy admitted to being able to do 'strange stuff' with his eyes- to determine it was best to send the boy back to the Leaf Village for Tsunade to deal with.

The agreement was made that myself, Sasuke and Haku would return to Mist with Raiga's head and the Kiba, while Jiraiya would go and drop the kid off on the Hokage's doorstep. The plan was to meet up in Wave Country, at Tazuna's house, seeing as it was middle ground.

Haku planned to ask if he could escort us the rest of the way, and he saw no reason Mei would disagree with such a thing.

Though Jiraiya was rather upset he wouldn't be able to collect his kiss from the Mizukage.

 

Even if privately, myself and Sasuke thought that was rather for the best.

 

* * *

 

 

Laughter filled his ear a second before arms latched around his neck. Normally this would have bothered him. As the amount of time since the formation of Team Seven had grown, so had Naruto's comfort levels regarding both himself and Kiba. Of course, with the mutt still in Konoha, it was just the two of them now from Team Seven.

He hadn't minded Naruto's hugs before, while the touch of the girls who'd chased after him made him cringe, Naruto only ever meant it in a friendly way. Before she had only ever touched him to correct his taijutsu stance or draw seals onto his skin.

It'd only been as they were approaching the Chũnin exams that she'd come out of own shell a bit. Most noticeably was after dealing with Orochimaru; she'd been a bit clingy, as if to blink, and open her eyes to find them gone. He'd put up with it, because even weeks after the massacre he'd clung to Shisui. He knew how it felt, which was why he'd returned all the contact she'd initiated, just like Shisui had done for him.

After the adjustment of the seal, it'd gotten to the point where it wasn't such a chore, that it was actually quite fun to tease Naruto, because some of the oddest things would get her flustered.

But this, this was different now.

Because now they were both fifteen and Naruto had suddenly developed all these curves when he hadn't been looking and he wouldn't have even noticed if it weren't for Jiraiya's stupid books!

From the look on the leech's face, he'd known exactly what kind of effect that literature would have too!

Two soft mounds were pressed up against his shoulder blades, Naruto half hanging off his taller form from where she'd jumped on his back, legs wrapped around his waist.

"Nee, are you okay Sasuke? You look a bit red…" Her eyes narrowed, one small hand reaching up and pressing against his burning cheek and her lips twisted in suspicion. "You're not sick are you? Because I am not playing nurse and Jiraiya can't pull off the uniform."

Struggling to push away the mental image that came about regarding Naruto and a nurses uniform, Sasuke flipped the blonde over his shoulder and took great satisfaction in the way her back hit the ground.

"I'm not ill. Let's spar, Foxface."

"Hey! That should not be used as an insult!"

Sparring was good. He didn't get a chance to think about anything else other than to dodge Naruto's next blow because otherwise he was going to be thrown to the ground.

He could kill Jiraiya for opening his eyes later.

 

 

 

Laid flat out on the soft grass, sweat running down the curve of his brow, Sasuke stared sightlessly up as the clear blue sky, chest rising and falling in a swift, steady rhythm as he attempted to regulate his breathing. Sparring with Naruto was always good because she just had so much stamina.

Enough to push him right to the edge of his own, but just enough wisdom in her blonde head to know when they should stop.

She'd learnt that from the first time they'd gone at each other in an all out spar and Sasuke had woken the next morning with his leg muscles refusing to cooperate when it came to walking. Naruto, looking fresh as a daisy and as if she'd had a massage not a spar, had piggy-backed him for the whole day. What an embarrassment that'd been.

Letting out a pained groan as he twisted his head to a side, Sasuke took in the appearance of his teammate and fellow apprentice.

She wasn't quite flopped out on the grass like he was, sat instead with her legs half drawn up to her chest and forearms resting upon her knees. Her ribcage was expanding and contracting slowly as she sucked in deep breaths of oxygen, the exhales blowing the chin length bangs away from her pink cheeks. She had grown up pretty, Shisui had been right about that much.

God damn it, he wasn't suppose to go and get a crush, especially not on Naruto. Naruto was only focused on her career, had sworn of dating until she was sixteen. But her fifteenth birthday had just passed…

In fact, did he even have a crush on Naruto, or was it just a passing fancy?

Their eyes met and Sasuke forced himself to startle when he realized she'd caught him staring. There was nothing wrong with looking at his teammate after all. Naruto was, well, she was Naruto. His teammate and the first person he'd go to with a problem he wouldn't be able to handle himself. He trusted her.

"Naruto."

She snapped to attention, turning wide blue eyes on him with a little pucker to her lips that let him know that she had no idea what he was about to say. In all honesty, Sasuke wasn't too sure what he was about to say either, only that he needed to test this hypothesis.

Struggling up into a sitting position, Sasuke's hand shot forwards with a speed he didn't know his sore muscles possessed, taking a careful hold of Naruto's chin. Her shoulders tensed, but she didn't pull back, instead watching him with cautious eyes.

Leaning forwards and giving Naruto ample opportunity to pull away -she could, she was still slipperier than he was- Sasuke brushed his lips ever so slightly across Naruto's. Waiting for, something.

Wasn’t something special suppose to happen? That's what all those fan-girls had gone on about back in Konoha. But it didn't make his heart race, and it didn't make his chest ache or his stomach flip.

"Just physical attraction then," Sasuke murmured, pulling back and watching as Naruto smirked slightly.

True he'd just called her attractive, but that wasn't a surprise. All his graduating class had been attractive in one way or another. Just because he'd not expressed interest in them, didn't mean he'd missed how unusual Sakura's hair colour was, or how doe-like Hinata's eyes were, or how Ino had a nice smile when she got a perfect score on her practical tests.

"What, don't I make your heart beat all aflutter?" Naruto snarked, wiggling her eyebrows and Sasuke slugged her in the arm.

How could he have ever thought he had a crush on this idiot. Sure she was an impressive Kunoichi, would probably be the strongest in the nations in the future.

But, he wasn't attracted to her.

Their relationship leaned too far into friendship, he couldn't see himself marrying her. At least, not now. Maybe his opinion would change in the future.

But right now, he couldn't see her as anything other than a friend.

Laying back down in the grass, Sasuke stared up into the sky as a cloud slowly began to twist around the sun.

The clearing was silent for a few minutes, before Naruto snorted to herself.

"I think you need to go get laid, Sasuke."

"I think you're right."

 

* * *

 

 

We were heading back to the Leaf in a week.

Sprawled out across one of Kurama's mighty tails, we both stared down at the Fūinjutsu pattern that I'd mapped out. It was the most complex thing I'd ever managed, and I sure as hell never wanted to have to think such a thing up again.

It'd taken two years, two years of constant studying, of testing the limits of Fūinjutsu and expanding on every scrap of information I could find. I'd even managed to badger Jiraiya into taking us to Uzu, and though there'd been no Fūinjutsu examples left over there, some of my best work had been made there. The only thing I was still struggling with was the Flying Thunder God. I was missing a key component, I was sure of it, but I still hadn't quite figured out just what that component was.

Most importantly though, the seal to catch and hold Zetsu was finished. I'd put everything I know into it, created so many interlocking inter-tiers and back-loops that there was no way the bugger would be getting out of it.

All I needed to do was catch it, and then never again would Kaguya's will pull the strings from the shadows. The world would be able to take a step towards peace without war. Hopefully.

" **It's a good piece of work,** " Kurama grumbled, intelligent red eyes scanning the seal once, twice, and then thrice, before the most malicious grin I'd ever seen spread out across his face. It was the expression of one who finally had the key to enact his ultimate revenge. It suited him.

"I've got another seal that should, theoretically, anchor Orochimaru's soul to his body. No idea if it will work, souls are tricky business, as you've said before. We can only cross our fingers that I get it on him and it works. Though it'd really be a lot cleaner if we just killed him and Kabuto off, so I'm still going to aim for that. If there's no one that know the stupid dead revival jutsu, then there'll be no one to bring Madara back. Need to smack Obito out of it too somehow."

A grumble rumbling about in my chest as I pressed my face into the soft fur of Kurama's tail, letting my eyelids fall closed. Everything was going to start coming to head soon.

And I was terrified. This was the deciding time, the events that would shape the rest of the world. The pressure was on.

I didn't know if I was ready.

" **You're as ready as can be brat. I think it's time you start practicing with my chakra now. The Pure stuff. It's time to let your godfather know we're on good terms.** "

Twisting over so I was laid on my back instead, I glanced over at Kurama, who was now resting his own head on three of his tails. They were exceptionally comfortable, so there was no way I could fault him for using them as pillows.

" **The seal for the abomination is complete. We plan to kill the ones who know the resurrection jutsu, so Madara will not be a problem.** " The tone of voice implied that such a thing was not a suggestion, that Madara would not be a problem or so help him.

" **And this, Obito, will be dealt with as well. Those are the major players, are you sure you are not missing anyone?** "

Pouting, I rubbed at my chin, the other hand petting at Kurama's fire coloured fur, quite unable to keep the smile off of my face.

"Deidara and Sasori, we should be able to deal with both of them when they make an attempt of Gaara. I think I'm much quicker than the Naruto from the manga, so we should be able to catch up quicker and prevent the extraction. Manga Sasuke dealt with Deidara on his own, and he was only a few months older than what my Sasuke is right now. Sasuke can take him down, I'm positive. I can handle Sasori, thank to the immunity you give me to poisons. We've got this."

Our gazes met, thin pupils focused completely on me before Kurama's face once again split into a wide grin, not quite as menacing as before and almost, dare I say it, fond?

" **Yes, we have got this.** "


	13. A Warm Welcome

 

 

May was the month of our triumphant return. It was surprising that I wasn't falling apart at the seams, considering my insides had decided it was the best day to put on a circus act. 

My stomach was flipping, my heart bouncing wildly about and my lungs felt like they were pulling off some kind of twisted contortionist movement.

Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed completely fine, cool even. Stood in his white shirt, the zipped collar unfastened to rest a few inches below his collarbones, leaving his clavicles bared to the sun and most importantly, the cooling wind.

Summer was hitting hard, fast and most importantly of all, early in Fire Country, leaving the three of us sweating like pigs. Oh sure there was chakra exercises to regulate internal body temperature, but that didn't change the fact your skin was cooking every time you stepped out into the sunlight.

"It is hot," the whine came tumbling out of my lips and I didn't even attempt to stop it, looking over at the two male to assess their reactions.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, even as Jiraiya nodded his head in agreement. Sasuke didn't understand, he didn't have a long mane of hair covering the back of his neck and a good portion of his torso. Even if Jiraiya's was tied back. Humm…

Pulling out a thin bobble, I collected the great mass of blonde hair, whipping it up into a loose bun that sat high on back of my skull, leaving my neck deliciously bare.

"Yesss."

"Please don't voice your sexual fantasies aloud," Sasuke grumbled, driving his elbow into my ribs in a move that, had we been civilians, would have been merciless.

"Hey, I'm not the one that went slinking off to the Red Light District with sensei in the last town."

Jiraiya's arm -I couldn’t really call him huge anymore. Not after meeting seven foot plus Han- came down on Sasuke's shoulders as the other hand ruffled his inky black hair with a proud smile.

"It was only a matter of time."

Nodding solemnly, I wormed a hand under Jiraiya's arm to rest my fingers on Sasuke's shoulder, mournful look on my face.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"My loss?"

"Of innocence. You held out for two years, but in the end, Jiraiya's perversion clearly has its own orbit and you got pulled right in."

The Sannin laughed, voice booming down the woodland path that led to Konoha as Sasuke stuck out a foot to trip me up. I jumped over it with a victorious 'ha', only for the Uchiha to push me into the bushes a moment later.

"You suck Sasuke. You suck a lot."

Clambering out of the shrubbery,  I darted after to two males, who'd taken off running down the pathway. I was hesitant to say they ran off giggling, because Jiraiya hadn't quite corrupted Sasuke to the point that he giggled now. Chuckled, yes, but not giggled. That noise was all Jiraiya.

They skidded to a halt when they reached the gate, Sasuke easily catching me when I threw myself up on his back and grinned at the two startled Chũnin that were manning the desk.

"Jiraiya of the Sannin, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, reporting back from thirty month training trip. Objective successful."

"Objective?" Sasuke and I repeated at the same time, turning our eyes on the white haired Sannin and raising a mirroring brow each.

The Toad Sage startled slightly before regaining his composure admirably.

"Yes, you're both very grand shinobi now and if you die, it's not through any fault of mine! I've trained you both up damn fine, and it's time to unleash you upon the world. I wash my hands of you."

As if to further drive his point home, Jiraiya dusted off his hands, grinning wildly. The Chũnin gate guards were watching the three of us as if we were a TV drama, having stepped fresh out of the screen and were now performing out comedy routine before them.

"So yeah, three to see Tsunade-sama please," I murmured, watching as the duo nodded and went about stamping our papers as I climbed down off of Sasuke's back.

The Uchiha didn't try to trip me again -thank god- as we took to the rooftops, making our way to the Hokage's tower was all the grace of highly trained, professional killers.

I wondered how much had changed, what new buildings and new restaurant and shops had appeared in Konoha. What the rookie nine- the rookie eight looked like. What Team Gai were like now.

I had a rough idea from the manga I'd read so long about, but they weren't two dimensional characters that were displayed in the pages of a book. I wondered if Lee was still attempting to learn cooking, if Kiba had gotten over his secret fear of bugs now, seeing as he wasn't on Shino's team to acclimatize.

Not that I could really talk, given that the last time I'd seen a spider unexpectedly lounging in a hotel bath and I screamed loud enough to lead Sasuke into believing I was being murdered.

When he found the cause of my distress, he'd pulled an abdominal muscle from laughing so hard.

It wasn't that I couldn’t deal with spiders. I just didn’t like them sneaking up on me like that.

I couldn't wait to see Kakashi and Shisui, though privately, I did wonder how the latter had survived without me dropping off a bento for him every day. He'd probably been living off take-outs now that I think about it.

Either that or he bugged someone else to fulfil my role as personal cook.

 

 

 

The Hokage's office was, cleaner. I wasn't quite certain if that was the right word, but the one I was looking for certainly wasn't organised.

There was paperwork strewn all over the place, some pinned to the walls with shuriken, senbon, even a few pens. An empty bottle of sake half-heartedly hidden behind a bookcase left a lingering scent of alcohol, which someone was trying to drown with the multitude of flora blossoms that'd been strategically placed on various surfaces throughout the room.

As the last one to slide in through the window, I eased onto the sill, perched precariously on the edge as Jiraiya and Sasuke made themselves comfortable in the empty room. Wherever Tsunade was, it was clear that she would be returning soon, if the bento on the desk was any indication.

Jiraiya was pawing through the papers on her desk, dropping his rump down to seat himself atop Tsunade's comfortable looking leather chair. Leaning against the wall beside me, Sasuke watched the man go about reorganising Tsunade's desk, pulling open the bento and grinning to himself.

"Catch brats!"

Two rice balls came flying towards us, Sasuke plucking his straight out the air while I twisted my torso forwards, catching the food between my teeth. The familiar flavour of miso burst across my tongue as I chewed, and a part of me ached to go visit the ramen stand. While I wasn't obsessed like the Manga Naruto had been, it was a flavour I associated with the Leaf Village, one I hadn't been able to find anywhere else on my travels.

"Ohh! Truffles!" Jiraiya plucked up one of the little desserts and I got a whiff of something alcoholic lingering beneath the chocolaty goodness. Liquor chocolates, I'm not surprised in the slightest.

The door was thrown open, Shizune scurrying in with her back to us and holding far too many folders, the kind of tower that just had to be balanced by chakra because otherwise gravity would have pulled back down to earth with the next step she took.

"-ring his neck and hang the swine by his intestines. How he ended up a wise old elder I'd never know. In fact-" Tsunade cut off as she stormed into the room, looking between Jiraiya, Sasuke and myself with wide honey brown eyes before the tension just seemed to leak out of her all at once.

"Finally a distraction." She prowled forwards, towards both myself and Sasuke and before we could react, two strong arms wrapped around our heads. I'd probably feel a lot safer if I hadn't seen this very woman crush a melon in the same hold.

Regardless, I tentatively wrapped my arms around Tsunade's waist, pleased to see I was actually taller than the fearsome woman. If only just, perhaps by half an inch. But that half an inch made all the difference.

Tsunade drew back, inspecting both of our faces before tapping at Sasuke's cheek first.

"You grew up dishy. Beating the girls off are we?" She didn't give him a chance to respond, instead turning to look at me again and a malicious grin spread across her lips. "You've got your pretty-boy father's face, brat. Won't be hiding that fact for much longer. In fact, I'm declassifying that secret. It'll be on your file in the hour."

Her tiny, powerful hand patted at my cheek before she strolled over to her chair, Jiraiya instantly vacating it. Perhaps sensing the innate danger that Tsunade never gave off. It was just common sense. Don’t anger the blonde woman that ran the top secret ninja village. Or, it should be common sense, but when it came to Jiraiya, I had my doubts.

"Right brats. Let's talk, shall we?"

 

 

Both Sasuke and myself were dismissed pretty soon with orders to report to training ground three when dusk arrived. Still a bit startled over how damn efficient Tsunade had gotten, the two of us stood at the entrance to the Hokage's Building, side by side, staring out at the street before us.

"I, I think I should probably go and unseal my house," I finally murmured, pulling my thoughts back together and pushing away the mental image of Tsunade absolutely flying through her paperwork.

Sasuke nodded from the corner of my eye, shaking his head and forcing his eyes to focus once again.

"I'll come with you. You need to come pick your stuff up from the Uchiha compound anyway." The 'you can catch up with Shisui if he's in the village' went unsaid, but was most certainly the main selling point. Seeing as we had no idea on the location of Kakashi -who only ever returned to his home to sleep- and Kiba had apparently gotten a new apartment according to Shizune, Shisui was the only one we had a viable location for right now. So he would be the first one we set out to find.

"Right then, let's roll!"

 

 

Shisui wasn't at the Uchiha compound, at least, not when we stopped by to pick up all my stored possessions. He was however, present when we returned from Ichiraku Ramen. He hadn't gotten any taller, but the wild mess he called hair had grown a bit longer, framing his cheekbones and ears with their half curls.

For a moment, he did nothing that stare blankly at the two of us, grocery bags still curled up in his hands as he looked from Sasuke, to me, and then back to Sasuke. And then the most brilliant grin I'd ever seen him sport stretched across his face and he shot forwards, quicker than I could see without being on high alert, and was crushing us into a hug. His grocery bags hit the floor a whole second after he'd pulled the two of us into his arms. Which was not as easy as it had been when we were little preteens.

Still, it was nice to feel the familiar warmth of Shisui's body, the scent of wood-smoke and wind that always seemed to be clinging to his skin.

"You've both grown!" Shisui exclaimed when he finally pulled back, examining both of our faces with his Sharingan blazing. Shisui himself hadn't changed much, other than the fact he'd clearly let his shaving routine go; there was a unfortunate amount of itchy stubble covering his face.

The older Uchiha must of noticed the way I was dubiously eyeing it, because he laughed, scratching at the beginnings of his beard with a thoughtful smile.

"It's not my fault. I got back from a mission to find I was out of shaving cream, just picked some up." He went to gestured to his grocery bags, before realize that he, in fact, did not have them in his hands any more.

Mournful black eyes turned on the fallen bags, with a deep mewling noise rumbling around in Shisui's throat at the sight of yolk slowly puddling beneath the bags.

"My eggs."

 

 

 

We ended up staying the night at Shisui's place. The energy I'd built up to return to my own house drained right out of me in the face of Shisui's evident excitement over our arrival, and even Sasuke cracked a joke or two with his cousin.

The eldest Uchiha had been the one I'd entrusted my empire into, though slowly but surely I'd been handing it off to the Leaf Village, bit by bit. Tsunade's gambling debts, at the very least, were all paid off now. Shisui had seen to a good profit through, and I'd insisted he keep at least fifty percent of what would usually end up in my hands.

The Uchiha hadn't so much a gracefully accepted it, as begrudgingly grumbled over the fact I'd set it up to go into his bank account. Seeing as he didn't have my account number, he had no way of giving it back to me. As such, he insisted on the two of us bunking in his home for the night, and that was that.

The Jonin had completed another grocery run, returning with eggs in the early morning, and I'd set about making a breakfast for the three of us. Shisui, now clean shaven, was sat up to table when Sasuke stumbled down, scratching absentmindedly at his bare chest.

"That's a doozie of a scar, Sasuke."

Looking down at the old puncture mark in his side, Sasuke gave a low shrug of his shoulders, muttering a thanks when I presented his breakfast before him. No mushrooms, heavy on the tomatoes.

"Snake bite. Something about building up an immunity to their poisons." Shisui hummed, kicking out one of the table chairs before I could do so myself, and I offered him a nod of thanks as I sat down.

"So, what's happening today kiddies?"

"I think we're getting the final member of Team Kakashi."

It'd been, upsetting, to be told by Tsunade that Kiba had been reassigned. Not unsurprising, but still upsetting. We would always be Team Seven, but now, he was part of Team Kurenai, the advanced tracker unit, with Hinata and Shino. We were back on track regarding the original teams, so I had a pretty good feeling over who would be the final member of Team Kakashi.

But, I was apprehensive. Sakura had changed a lot during the Chũnin Exams and the bit after them. If that'd carry over, I wasn't sure. But I was hopeful. It was all I could be.

"Yeah, Kiba told me last time I saw him he was second in command, just after Kurenai-san. He's pretty damn proud of himself."

He was right to be. No doubt he'd trained his backside off while we were gone. That didn't mean I wasn't going to miss him like crazy.

"Well, you two better head off to the Hokage's office then. She threw Kakashi into the mountain last time he was late to an important meeting. It took us a week to fix the Second's nose."

Snorting, I ran a hand down the side of my face, stuffing the rest of my breakfast into my mouth.

Yeah, that sounded like our beloved Hokage.

 

 

 

As it just so happened, we ran into Kiba on the way to the Hokage's office. We'd almost walked past one another, so huge had Akamaru become, and it was only because the great big hound caught our scent that we stopped. Perhaps because the beast had leapt at the two of us and began licking ferociously at our faces. Kiba blinked once, twice, and then a huge grin spread across his face.

Flinging his arms open, he all but dived at the two of us, bellowing our name so loudly people in the streets stopped to stare.

"Naruto! Sasuke! You're back!"

"And you've got muscle," I mused, tapping at the significant amount of bicep that rested below the leather of Kiba's jacket.

He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows before releasing us from his hug, looking between the two of us with his lips stretching further and further across his face. 

"So, how many naughty moments happened between the two of you then?"

Blinking, I forced myself not to flush. It'd been one kiss, not even either of our first kisses -a demanding heiress had snatched up Sasuke's- so it wasn't too difficult to keep my face from burning red.

"Zero," Sasuke deadpanned.

Kiba looked flabbergasted.

"You mean to tell me," he began, clearly addressing Sasuke, "that you've been living with that bombshell for two and a half years, and you've not once tried to pull a move on her?"

I blinked. That, was not the direction I was expecting this conversation to take.

Sasuke scoffed, folding his arms and scowling.

"She quite blatantly told us she wasn't dating anyone until seventeen from pretty much day one."

"I never thought she'd still be sticking to it!" Kiba shook his head mournfully, as if he felt Sasuke had let down the entire male race, before he turned to me. I wisely chose not to mention the single kiss we'd shared as I fell beneath the Inuzuka's judgemental eyes.

"Naruto, you're looking hot, smoking hot, though I'm not a fan of all that orange."

I frowned. What was wrong with my orange jumpsuit? Jiraiya had proudly presented it to me on my last birthday and I had fallen in love.

"I had a crush on you when we were Team Seven, you know? But I'm happily dating Hinata now."

"You are?" I perked up, genuinely pleased for the boy. He deserved a nice girl, and you couldn't really get any nicer than Hinata.

"Yep! Doesn't mean I can't compliment my Genin teammate though. You're gorgeous, and you'll be beating the boys off with a stick if you keep to that seventeen thing. Right, I gotta go!"

And off he went, scampering along, Akamaru pausing to leap up and give us both another welcoming lick before following after his master.

"Well, that was strange."

Sasuke had a different opinion, voicing his thoughts; "how that mutt's dating prim and proper Hyūga, I'll never know."

* * *

 

Haruno Sakura was made of stern stuff. At the age of thirteen, she'd approached the most terrifying woman in the entire village and begged to be trained in her ways. She had put up with boulders being launched at her with the speed of comets, with uprooted tree trunks being swung at her as if they were merely baseball bats and she the ball.

She had cut open dead bodies, live bodies, and sewn both back up. She'd helped many a woman give birth, and developed cures for poisons previously beyond any medic nin before her, if one disregarded Tsunade.

She was unyielding iron- no, diamonds. She was made of diamonds, and nothing would bend her out of shape.

And yet, why was she so damningly nervous right now?

Frowning down at the paperwork in her arms, Sakura took a deep breath before exhaling, listening to her knuckles creek beneath her fingerless black gloves. She wasn't nervous, she wasn't at all…. Oh who was she kidding?

Grimacing, the pink haired Chũnin shuffled into Tsunade's office, dropping the paperwork in the top most corner of her desk and smiling when the blonde groaned at the sight of her delivery. Perhaps it was right of her to be nervous. She was joining a new team, after being nothing but Tsunade's personal apprentice for two and a half years.

She had left Team Eight, and that still stung.

Hinata and Shino were dear friends, and she trusted them with her life. But, Tsunade had said she was to be on this team, so on this team she was.

Team Kakashi. She had run a few missions with the silver haired Jonin whenever a skilled medic was required, and she found him quite the likable character. If one discarded his tendency to always arrive late and his obsession with those sleazy books.

No, it wasn't Kakashi that made her nervous, it was in fact, the other two potential members.

Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.

Sasuke, where did she begin with that can of worms? A childhood crush, that she was eager to test if she'd grown out of. She had no doubt he was good looking, even more so now than he had been in the past. One only needed to take a look at Uchiha Shisui to verify the Uchiha genetics. She couldn't remember much of the Uchiha clan from her childhood, before they'd all been slayed, but from the few photos she'd seen, they had all been a good looking bunch.

But then, Neji and Shikamaru were quite good looking too, in Sakura's personal opinion. She was more worried about if she'd mesh with his personality well, that she wouldn't ruin what team dynamics had passed over from Team Seven to Team Kakashi.

She could remember Sasuke from the academy; he'd always been standoffish, had sneered in disdain on a multitude of occasions. She was worried she wouldn’t fit into this new team, but she was determined to try. Which brought her to her next issue.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Sakura had no problem with the girl. In fact, she held a great deal of admiration for her. While Sakura had been a fangirl at the time of the Chũnin exams, Naruto had powered through them with her team. She'd slugged it out with Gaara, who'd completely terrified Sakura, and she'd won that fight.

At that age, when Sakura had been too busy chasing boys, Naruto had been a competent, powerful ninja that didn't stop chasing after the power to look after her precious people. Her admiration for the girl was strong, and she hoped she'd prove worthy of working alongside her.

Though she really hoped that neither of the two would be upset with her for effectively taking Kiba's place.

Sakura would be the first to admit she didn't really know the two of them, not really. She had known a few factual things regarding Sasuke, but she didn't know the important stuff. She didn't know what their senses of humours were like, she didn't know how they interacted with one another, how close they were as friends. She didn't have any experiences with them.

But she hoped they'd allow her to build some with them.

The green eyed ninja startled when a small cup of sake was pushed beneath her nose, the Hokage grinning as she waved the liquid back and forth.

"For the nerves."

Sakura didn't even try to protest, instead just downing the contents of the cup and grimacing at the familiar burn as it passed down her throat. Her sensei was truly a bad influence, and Sakura had more than once considered that the busty blonde really was attempting to turn her into a mini-me.

It was just a shame she hadn't quite gotten a rack like that.

Instead, she was still the flattest out of both herself, Ino and Hinata. Both of them her bloomed into women with fine curves, and Sakura always found herself just the slightest bit insecure whenever they hung out together. Though she had the best backside out of the lot of them.

Hey, she'd take her victories where she could get them.

Before she could think more on the subject, the door to the office flew open, a familiar looking blonde prancing in and pulling another familiar looking figure after her.

Naruto and Sasuke had certainly grown, Sakura thought with a blush. The blonde was as curvy as Ino, though not quite in the same league as Hinata. Her long hair fell down her back now, free of the binds that used to hold it all up in pigtails. Though she still seemed inordinately fond of orange.

And Sasuke, well, Sasuke looked good too, with black bangs framing his face and forehead now, a high collared white shirt only just failing to cover his chin.

He looked, lighter. Happier. More like a person and less like the angry preteen she remembered.

Maybe, maybe she'd be able to fit in if he was going to be a little more open.

"Hokage-sama," Naruto chirped, bowing at the waist and pulling a not quite reluctant Sasuke down with her.

The Uchiha spluttered slightly, driving his elbow into the girls ribs with a practiced ease

"Brats. You're to report to training ground three for a Bell Test do-over at three in the afternoon. Until then, go make nice with your new teammate."

Tsunade gestured over to her, and Sakura sucked in a breath, offering a small smile that grew when Naruto returned the gesture.

"Well you're a prettier than Kiba, so we're off to a great start! Let's go get some dinner!"

 

 

 

Naruto did most of the talking as they walked to the nearest BBQ, commenting on how the buildings and the streets had changed since she'd last been here, though Sasuke too was looking around with curious eyes.

It was understandable really. The both of them had left when the village was still recovering from the Sound/Sand invasion, of course things would look different for them now.

It wasn't until they were sat in a booth with their orders taken -a mixed grill for Naruto, some kind of meat skewers with great helpings of tomatoes for Sasuke and a dish of fish and vegetables for herself- that Naruto's gaze finally turned sharp as she eyed her up. Sakura tried not to fidget. She was quiet for a few moments, before Naruto gave a sudden, pleased nod.

"Looks like these past years have been very kind to you, Sakura-san."

"You can just call me Sakura, Naruto. We are on the same team now."

"Sasuke then."

Startled, Sakura looked over at the dark haired boy, who was sat close enough to Naruto that every time the blonde moved her arm their shoulders would blush.

Were, were they an item? Funnily enough, the idea didn't have her stomach sinking, Sakura was pleased to note.

"First names all around!" Naruto cheered, downing her water before her bright blue eyes turned on Sakura once again.

"Right, it's been a while since I've seen you, and I know Sasuke barely talked to anyone outside Team Seven before we forced socialization upon him, so let's make small talk."

The girl rubbed her hands together, coincidentally elbowing Sasuke several times in the ribs and Sakura had to cover her mouth -and subsequently, her giggle- at the boy's sour looking frown.

Eventually, he got fed up, shoving Naruto further into the booth and flicking her on the nose when she protested.

"For the past two years I've been travelling with Jiraiya of the Sannin, and putting up with this dweeb," Sasuke grumbled, pointing a finger in Naruto's direction for a second, though his eyes didn't leave Sakura, "Jiraiya thinks we're about Jonin level, and I have a good deal of combo moves with Naruto because she has a wind affinity that complements my secondary fire affinity. I like tomatoes. I am… Pleased we have a medic on the team now, a lot of our jutsus get destructive and it wouldn't surprise me if one of us got caught in a backlash. It's happened before."

It was perhaps the longest she'd ever heard Uchiha Sasuke speak.

Blinking slowly as the words seared into her brain, Sakura nodded, turning to Naruto and raising a questioning brow.

"Well, I've learnt a lot of the toad techniques, and Sasuke here has a good thing going with the snakes. We're both rather good with natural energy, but it still takes a while for us to activate Sage mode. I think it's gonna be great to have another girl on the team, so please take care of us Sakura-chan."

Naruto was completely sincere. She was smiling, the same smile that Sakura remembered her giving her teammates back in the Chũnin Exam.

She could still remember how stunned Naruto had looked when she apologised to her for jumping to conclusions. It was nice to see the girl accepted her, that she might have a chance to be as close a friend to Naruto as what Sasuke appeared to be.

Their meals arrived and Sakura accepted her's gratefully, taking a bit and watching her two teammates inhale their own mouthfuls, movements in sync.

"I'm sorry if this is invasive, but are the two of you, you know, together?"

Both Naruto and Sasuke paused in their chewing, looking between one another before Naruto forcibly swallowed.

"Nah. I mean, we kinda did share a little kiss, but there was nothing behind it, if you know what I mean." Sakura didn't.

She'd only kissed one boy, the civilian she'd had as a boyfriend last year. And, it'd been, nice. Warm, a little wet from where he kept nervously licking his lips. She wouldn't say there had been nothing there though.

"Really? It's just, the two of you seem so close."

"Really. Cross my heart and hope to die. Why, asking after Sasuke?" Naruto wiggled her eyebrows, and Sakura found her cheeks burning pink, a feeling she fought valiantly against.

Sure Sasuke was even more good-looking than before, but she was the apprentice of Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. She would not be felled by a pretty face.

"And if I was asking after you? "

Naruto blinked, before she began chortling in surprise, eyes lighting up with genuine humour as Sasuke stared at her in surprise. Her cheeks were no doubt tinged pink, but Sakura didn't back down.

"Then I'd say Sasuke's missed out and I'm a very lucky girl."

Shuffling out from the booth after woofing down her meal, Naruto slapped her share of the money down on the table before she skipped off out of the establishment, leaving Sakura still sat across from Sasuke.

Observing the dark haired boy for a moment, Sakura raised an eyebrow when it took him longer than it should have done to drag his eyes away from Naruto.

"Nothing behind it, huh?"

"Nothing behind it," Sasuke confirmed, getting to his feet and brushing the few crumbs from his trouser legs.

"She's my best friend."

He said those words as if they carried an astronomical weight, but Sakura, for the life of her, couldn't understand why. Instead, she pushed her thoughts back, trailing after the Uchiha as they made their way to Training Ground Three.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Her childhood crush was evidentially gone, and while she could say Sasuke was attractive, she didn't know him well enough to go out of her way to pursue romantic relations.

No, she'd rather establish herself in the team before even considering such a thing.

Because first and foremost, before everything else that she was, Haruno Sakura was a ninja of Konoha.

 

* * *

 

 

Bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet, I looked around the clearing for what felt like the fifth time, easily clocking Sasuke meditating on the training post and Sakura performing a series of warm up stretches.

I was excited to see Kakashi again. It'd been two and a half years since we'd last seen one another. Throughout most of my life in this world, he had been my constant. He had been my sensei, the one person I spent the most time with out of everybody. He'd taught me so much, I'd face death beside him and he'd no doubt saved my life twice over.

Kakashi was the first of my most precious people, and I was ever so eager to see him again.

Sakura's green eyes flew over to look at me and an amused smirk crossed her face, pink hair held neatly back from her face as she went through her katas.

Sasuke, I knew, was perfectly still. Gathering natural energy into the adjusted seal on the off chance he'd have to use it sometime soon. It took him longer to balance the energy, because he had to take it in through the seal, not absorb it into himself like my shadow clones and I did. The difference was that he could store it in his seal, and thus access it instantly the second he needed it, unlike with me, who had to sit and pull it all in.

We both had our advantages and disadvantages, but it didn't change the fact we could both use Sage mode efficiently, in our own ways.

"Maa, sorry I'm late. A black cat crossed my path and-oomph!"

I wrapped my arms tight around Kakashi's waist, burying my head into the warm collar of his Jonin jacket, nose pressed up against the fabric that covered his neck.

"Hello Naruto."

Two arms wrapped around my back and I sniffled, pressing myself closer to Kakashi and forcing down the emotions that were swirling about in my stomach.

I wasn't going to cry. It was just, well, Kakashi. I would not cry. It wasn't like anything had happened to him. I was just, so happy to see him again.

The awkward pats on my shoulder let him know that he'd not actually gotten used to human contact while I'd been away, and my lips twitched up at the corners in light of that realization.

"Sasuke, come join us!"

One dark eye popped open, the sheer loathing he expressed surprising even Kakashi, because the startled silver haired ninja let out a low chuckle, shaking his head back and forth as he did so.

"It's good to see you haven't changed, Sasuke."

"Oh please, Jiraiya's ruined him for all pleasant company, he just hides it better."

Sasuke's lips lifted up in a smirk and he mined a kiss, which I caught with both hands, fainting back into Kakashi's stunned arms.

Sakura snorted, covering her mouth with one dainty hand and looking surprised as she glanced back and forth between myself and Sasuke.

"We also beat a sense of humour into him too."

In all honestly, Sasuke was much more relaxed, much more friendly, than I'd ever dared to hope he'd become. From the manga, I remembered an antisocial boy who was willing to step on anyone, to do anything, in order to achieve his goals.

But, he was different here. I don't know if it was something I'd done directly, or something I'd done indirectly, but clearly, Sasuke had changed for the better. Itachi wasn't the only thing his life revolved around.

Looking at it from an outside perspective, it was probably the fact Shisui was still around that'd opened the gateway to a better Sasuke. He hadn't had chance to completely close off in the aftermath of the massacre, because Shisui had been there.

Shisui had been there to hold him together when his whole world had seemingly come undone, and because of that, he'd been able to accept other people into his heart. Myself, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Kiba, maybe even Sakura in a bit of time.

And that, that was good. It was the most significant change I saw daily, if one discounted the face Shisui was still among the living. I was making a change, making things better just by being here.

No doubt if the original Naruto had my foreknowledge, he'd probably have saved the world twice over and converted the entire Akatsuki to his side by now.

But I wasn't him. I was just doing what I could, and so far, that seemed to be enough.

My precious people were happy and healthy. They just had to stay that way. That was what I was fighting for. Peace meant no life threatening missions, peace meant no one trying to kill my precious people. So peace was the goal. Perhaps it was a selfish reason to want peace, but it was a reason all the same.

If everyone thought similarly, then no one would ever get hurt again.

Letting Kakashi set me back on my feet, I rolled my shoulders about in their sockets, turning to look at Kakashi with a small smile slowly stretching across my face.

"So, I hear there's a Bell Test rematch going down here?"

In response, Kakashi held up two tinkering metal bells.

 

 

 

Hidden in the bushes, Sasuke and I gave Sakura a quick once over regarding out signals. One finger up behind back for 'give me some room', two for 'cover me' and so on. We'd have to focus on signals because, while I didn't doubt Sakura's abilities, we'd never worked together before. We didn't know if our jutsus would mesh together, we didn't know how each other taijutsu worked; we just weren't in sync right now.

But we would be, with training and time. we'd still have the advantage on others though, because Konoha beat teamwork into the brains of little academy children right from the start. Opposed to, say, the Hidden Mist, that had you killing off your graduating class.

Oh sure, they weren't doing it now, but the point was they'd once thought it was a good idea, whereas Konoha had promoted teamwork from the start.

For the opening act, both myself and Sasuke went in, jutsus blazing. A fire/wind combo had Kakashi forcibly ducking into the earth in order to dodge, which Sakura then proceeded to crack open like a egg. Sasuke wobbled on the ground, and I had to swiftly attach myself to a tree via chakra in order to not fall over at the ground that was suddenly rubble.

Kakashi's sole eye was wide as Sakura smirked at him, and in his distraction, I summoned up a Rasengan in one hand, charging forwards as swiftly as I could managed.

The shadow clone he'd evidentially switched out with at some point popped under the weight of my attack, and I flipped back under the cover of the trees, rejoining my teammates before Kakashi could take advantage of any kind of opening. he hail of kunai Sasuke sent out to cover me no doubt helping when it came to that.

"He's still got much more experience than us. We're gonna have to play dirty," Sasuke grunted, Sharingan blazing in his eyes as they swept around the clearing, his back pressed up against a half of mine, Sakura taking up my other shoulder blade.

As we remained still in the clearing, I gathered the smallest bit of sage chakra I could manage, letting it flare outwards in an attempt to sense where Kakashi was hiding. North, about twenty meters, up a tree.

And just like that, a plan came to mind.

"Hey Sakura, ever read Icha Icha?"

My two teammates choked, but I could feel the moment that Sasuke caught on to what I was doing, because the muscles against my back relaxed ever so slightly.

"Wha- Of course not!"

"Well, then you won't be upset if I tell you that at the end of the book coming out next week, Michiko throws her lot in with-"

A gloved hand slapped over my mouth with a force that startled me, even though I knew it was coming.

Quick as a flash, my hand shot out, snatching up the bells tied to Kakashi's waist as his silenced my spoiler blabbing mouth.

Beside me, Sasuke snorted, accepting the bell I passed him while Sakura took the other in amused silence.

Peeking up at Kakashi with one cautious eye, I offered a nervous grin at the stern look on his face.

"Naruto-"

"Michiko's not even the main hero," I squawked once I'd forcibly pulled Kakashi's hand off of my mouth,

"Jiraiya-sensei made a new heroine for this one. She'd called Satoshi."

Wiggling my eyebrows, I raised my nose into the air, grinning at Kakashi as I did so.

"You didn't think I'd really spoil your favourite thing ever, did you Kakashi-sensei?"

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the book in question, holding it out as the peace offering it was. There was silence for a moment, and I could feel the older ninja's judgemental eyes on me.

"Meet at the Hokage's office at seven hundred hours tomorrow, we get our first mission."

And just like that, Kakashi -along with the newest Icha Icha- was gone.

 

 

 

I slept in my own house instead of bunking at Shisui's, though Sasuke joined me considering his own house was covered in dust. He'd spent an hour writing a D-rank request to hand over to Tsunade tomorrow to get the place cleaned up, and spent the rest of the night grumbling over the fact I hadn't placed a dust prevention seal over his house like my own.

In my defence, he'd never asked.

Running the brush through my hair a final time, I threw the blonde mass back over my shoulder, adjusting the headband until it rested straight across my brow. No longer on a training trip, I was once again an active ninja of Konoha, and I certainly looked the part. I was on a team with Kakashi and Sasuke and Sakura, and while part of me missed Kiba, another part was beyond excited to see how far the pink haired girl had come.

"Ready to go yet?"

Sasuke gnarled, cereal bar half hanging out of his mouth and muffling his words. Instead of verbally responding, I threw him the brush, knowing that the Uchiha was well aware his hair was a bed-head mess. A cereal bar was lobbed my way in exchange.

"I just hope Tsunade's got a good mission for us today."

 

 

 

Kakashi arrived twenty minutes later than the time he'd actually set, with his sole eye surrounded by a dark bag. It looked like someone had stayed up all night reading the new Icha Icha. Still, I knew he'd survived off much less sleep before, so who was I to say anything about that? It was a simple enough mission, deliver this scroll to the Kazekage, a warm up mission, to get back into the swing of things.

The fact that Gaara had specifically asked for me and my team to deliver it was of no importance to Tsunade, though it didn't stop her from sending a wink my way.

Throughout my training trip, I'd kept up a solid correspondence with Gaara via toad delivered letters. I'd gotten to read all of the progress he'd made, from the first villagers he won over, to the moment he was elected as the fifth Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand.

I'd gotten to read how he felt he was growing closer to the siblings he'd never really known, how he'd gotten to know them and come to trust in them. And it made me happy. Being able to see the stark difference between the first letter I'd gotten and the latest one, the difference between the unsure Gaara that'd left after the Chũnin exams and the one that'd won over his entire village through hard work and patience. It'd been my influence.

I'd handled things differently to the original Naruto, but still, Gaara had bloomed. Considering that, it was probably wasn't anything to do with me.

Gaara had always had the potential. He'd just needed someone  see that, to take that step forwards and believe in him, so that he could start believing in himself.

As soon as he'd done that, he'd thrived. He'd become this beacon of greatness for Suna, their newest Kazekage and the one sworn to protect its people. He would look after them.

Because when someone grows up with nothing, then you fight with everything you have in order to keep a hold of what you've managed to make for yourself.

I knew that feeling well. I would fight tooth and nail, use ever dirty trick in the book and then the ones off-books, in order to ensure that Kakashi, Sasuke, Shisui, Neji, Kiba and Jiraiya were safe. Even if they could look after themselves, I'd still fight.

Because these people here, meant the world to me. They weren't ink and paper characters any more, with select personality traits I liked. They were real flesh and blood people to me, each and every one of them had bled for me and I would bleed for them in return

Perhaps this was the Will of Fire thing that the sensei of my short time in the academy had preached about. While I knew the ideals, I'd never really thought I felt it myself.

But, it appeared, at the very least, a bit had snuck up on me.

"Maa, we should make it to Suna in three days time, if you can keep up," Kakashi mused, a sly, taunting grin in his voice that installed a spark of defiance in each of us.

Already I could feel my chakra flooding my limbs, ready to take up the challenge that'd just been issued.

To Suna in three days? It'd push most ninja to the edge, but we weren't most ninja. Sasuke already had above average stamina and chakra control, Sakura' chakra control was no doubt insane, and my own stamina was almost to the point of ungodly.

We could do this, probably without breaking too much of a sweat either. I didn't know when the Akatsuki attacked. I didn't know if I was back earlier than the second part of Naruto manga had started, seeing as I'd left the village earlier.

There hadn't really been a Sasuke Retrieval Arc, given that we'd thrashed the Sound Four on home turf. Seeing as neither myself or Sasuke had been heavily injured as a result, we'd set off only days afterwards, whereas I'm sure the original Naruto ended up staying in the hospital for a good long while, despite his super Kyūbi healing. So, maybe we were back early, maybe we were back on time. There were few ways I could find out.

' ** _Well, there is one way._** '

I almost missed the tree branch I'd been aiming for. Kurama's dark, heavy tone had come completely out of nowhere, and as a result, even though I managed to land on the branch I'd been aiming for, I still ended up getting smacked in the face with a twig I'd not managed to dodge.

All three of my teammates offered me a curious look, but I was far too busy trying to work out what the hell had just happened.

For all that we'd started getting along, Kurama had never spoken to me in the waking world, only ever in my mindscape. Well, that wasn't true, there had been that time in the Sound/Sand invasion, when I'd been caught in that Genjutsu. But my life had been at risk then, right now, it wasn't.

Yet, Kurama had decided to speak to me. And with such a heavy, ominous tone.

Shaking my head at the trio of nin around me, I turned my attention inwards, trusting them to have my back and letting my body run on auto pilot.

' _What way?_ '

There was quiet within my mind, no doubt Kurama mulling over if he truly wanted to tell me about whatever tactic he had in mind. Judging from the sense of, unrest, the polluted my head, it wasn't an idea he was particularly fond of. Still, something was better than nothing.

' ** _Come and visit me when you make camp. We will speak then._** ' He was gone and my mind was quiet again.

Frowning, I pulled at the thin skin of my lip, careful not to draw any blood and thus, make us any easier to track. This was not off to a promising start.

 

 

 

We settled down to make camp, allowed a smokeless fire given the fact we were still in the Konoha territory that was the Land of Fire. Bento boxes were unsealed, supper was eaten, and then I hunkered down to sleep for the night, well aware I had the early morning watch shift.

Appearing in my mindscape now came about with a natural ease, and no sooner had I closed my eyes, I was opening them to the metal patchwork that was the Kyūbi's home. Eyeing the paper seal on the door, I grimaced at the sight of it, fingers itching to pull it free. But that would bring the spirit of the Fourth down upon my head, and really, I don't think I was quite ready for such a confrontation yet.

Slipping through the massive bars, I began making my way over to Kurama, who was sat up and watching me approach with no tell to his facial expression.

Stopping before the giant fox, I offered a slow nod of my head, holding out my fist and watching the muscles of Kurama's shoulders twitch. Then, the massive red fist met mine in a careful fist bump, Kurama's nose jerking slightly as his lips lifted in a toothy smile.

A very sharp toothy smile.

"Well, what's the idea you've got for me, Kurama?"

The fox snorted slightly, scratching at his face before his eyes flew around the room, as if expecting something to jump out at us. Given the fact my parents chakra ghost were lying in wait somewhere, I guess his paranoia was verified.

" **You are aware of the secondary level to my consciousness?** "

Brows furrowed, I ran the words through my brain twice before they meaning settle in.

"You mean where you can meet up with the other Bijū?"

" **Yes. By working in harmony, I will be able to bring you along, drag you into the deeper subconscious, so to speak.** "

This, this was a level of trust we hadn't quite hit upon before. To share our chakra, it would require me removing the 'lid' of the seal, so to speak. Ripping off that little paper seal would leave the doors open, and if he so wished, Kurama could leave my body the second such a move was completed. He would if all of this was a trick, if he'd seen the opportunity and had been manipulating me ever since I'd told him everything.

He'd be free, and I'd be dead.

Did I trust him with this, with my life, to not kill me for his freedom?

I considered him my friend now, but, did Kurama consider me his friend too.

All of this raced through my mind as I made my way back over to the gates, stepping outside and staring up at that little paper seal.

Kurama didn't deserve to be trapped within me, but neither did I deserve to die for being his unwilling prison. Did I?

I liked to believe so, but then again, it was my life on the line here if Kurama betrayed me. I entrusted my life to my teammates, to my fell ninja, daily. Most of them I barely knew, had barely spoken to. Kurama and I had been speaking for years now, somewhat friends for at least two. He was the one I could go to with all of my problems, the one who knew all my secrets.

It was now or never.

I tore the seal off, like ripping off a band aid, and braced myself.

Cringing in on myself, I waited, prepared for the two possible outcomes. Kurama coming down on my head, or the Fourth turning up and slapping me atop the head for what I just did.

Nothing happened.

Nervously opening one eye, I eyed the closed gates that were no longer locked, Kurama on the other side looking as stunned as I felt.

Where, where was the Fourth? Shouldn't he had turned up?

The paper seal crumbled in my hand, and the little whirlpool beneath my feet that'd allowed me to reach the seal without my notice slowly began to disperse, leaving me back on the usual ankle deep water level.

Cautiously reaching out, I pulled one of the big gates back, looking over both my shoulders, still expecting to see the sudden appearance of blond hair.

But…

Nothing.

Hesitantly, Kurama stepped forwards, pushing open the gates, both of them, the rest of the way, and stepping out.

Slowly, he wandered up and down the patchwork of metal, eyes sharp as he scanned the room for potential threats. In all honesty, I was just happy he hadn't ripped my stomach open in a dash for freedom yet.

" **You said the Fourth was suppose to appear…** "

He trailed off, almost like an accusation, though the narrowed red eyes seemed to realize I was just as confused.

"Th-that’s what happened in the manga," I murmured, taking another look around to see if the Fourth was just waiting to surprise us.

But, nothing happened.

Frowning, I turned back to Kurama, looking up at his towering, imposing form. It seemed to have just hit home for him that he was indeed no longer fully sealed, because that toothy smile was back, only this time it looked much more menacing.

"So," I warily began, "partners?"

Crimson eyes weighed me for a second, staring down at the small fist I was holding out. This was it. Kurama choice. He could up and leave, or we could work together.

I didn't realize I'd been holding my breath until one furred knuckle crashed gently against my entire first, dwarfing it.

" **I suppose I could end up with a worse human.** "

And then warm chakra was flooding up my arm.

 

 

One moment we were in my patchwork, open seal, and the next, we were elsewhere. Somewhere bright, made up of whites and other colours that glittered prettily, with one of Kurama's paws beneath my sitting form. Blinking in shock, I took another good look around, noting that it was only myself and Kurama here right now. This, this was the place the Bijū could meet up.

Only, it was empty.

Looking around as if the Bijū had hidden themselves beneath a carpet I couldn’t see, I turned my gaze on Kurama, raising an eyebrow and waiting for his verdict. Silence passed between us and I worried my lip back and forth, grimacing. However, before I could open my mouth and question just what was going on -it wasn't a trap, Kurama could have fled by now, we trusted each other now- the great big fox beat me to it.

" **Shukaku!** " The roar echoed off the non-existent walls, rebounding through the quiet space impossibly well as my fingers dug into the silken orange fur in reaction to my shock.

In the ensuring silence, I could feel the anticipation swelling within Kurama. Not quite excitement, but not dread either. Somewhere between, or perhaps, both.

I could understand.

Shukaku was the one that'd been driving Gaara mad, taunting him and pushing him to kill those around him. The One Tails still might be playing with my fellow Jinchuriki's mind for all I knew. I had no idea what I was going to be facing, and I was under-armed to face a Bijū on my own, in a place where I couldn’t summon the toads.

But I wasn't on my own.

I had Kurama by my side, and together, we could do anything, beat anything. He had the power, and I hopefully brought something to the table in our partnership. He clearly saw something in me, given the fact I was sat on his paw in this consciousness right now.

The air to my left seem to simmer for a second, before a Bijū appeared.

Shukaku stared down at us with surprised eyes for a second, especially when they landed upon my form. He looked between me, Kurama, and then me -more specifically my placement on Kurama- and then he laughed.

" **So the Almighty Nine Tails let's a human sit upon his paw! Ha!** "

Scowling, I stood up, squaring out my shoulders as Kurama's tails flickered back and forth behind me, a key giveaway to his agitation with the current situation.

"Hey, Sandy! Stop focusing on Kurama and pay some attention!"

There was another moment of silence as Shukaku stared down at me with his mouth wide open, before another mad fit of laughter, louder than the first, rumbled out of his chest.

" **You told her your name?! You let her use it?! Kurama's gone soft! Ha, how's those might tails for you now?!** "

I barely had time to attach myself to Kurama's paw via chakra before he moved, slamming all nine of his tails into the bulk of Shukaku's body and sending the sand demon rolling across the empty white landscape. If the night's sky was white instead of black, this was probably what it would look like, come to think of it.

" **They are working just fine, Shukaku,** " Kurama sniffed, nose back up in the air. Nevertheless, he plucked me up with one hand, dropping me atop the crown of his head and thus leaving me at eye level with my fellow demon.

" **Most importantly though, my host is not useless. She has uncovered a plot, to bring back Kaguya.** "

Shukaku, who had been half way towards leaping at the two of us, went silent, muscles bunching beneath all that sand as he froze in place.

"A creature known as Zetsu has been playing behind the scenes, and it's set up the stage so a collection of S-ranked criminals are attempting to gather the nine of you. Do I need to go over how bad that is?"

Stood with my hands on my hips, I liked to think I cut an imposing figure atop Kurama's head. To any other ninja, I would have done, but this was a fellow Bijū, who despite being wary of the name Kurama had just voiced, only snorted.

" **They will be coming for your container. Spread the word to the others.** "

" **Wha-Hey! What the hell do ya mean spread word to the others?! Why the hell don't ya do it ya-self?!** "

Readying myself atop Shukaku if the sand demon dared to attack the two of us, I kept my eyes locked on the One Tails, even as Kurama's chest began to rumble with laughter.

" **Because unlike you, Naruto and I are working together to put a stop to the one that would dare destroy Father's legacy.** "

It was surreal, stood upon Kurama's head in this strange white landscape as Shukaku glared at the two of us, eyes willing us to roll over and die.

But, after a few tense minutes in this standoff, the sand demon snarled, looking away. The single, huge tail hit the strange ground with a thump that would've no doubt crushed a human village.

From the look on the other Bijū's face, it was almost as if, dare I say it, he was, sulking?

" **Tch, I'll warn the others. But no one will undo Father's work!** "

And just like that, he was gone.

Slouching in relief, I slipped down from Kurama's brow to rest on the bridge of his muzzle, leaning back to rest at the junction of fur between his eyes. It would be easy to line at least three of me up in that little space alone I hated to think if he'd be any bigger, had he all his chakra to hand.

The missing ghost of the Fourth Hokage worried me, but with Shukaku warned of the true meaning of the Akatsuki, and hopefully planning to spread it in this space should the other Bijū answer the call, I felt a bit more accomplished today.

Gaara knew that the Akatsuki was out there and after Bijū through our letters, and Han had hopefully spread the word to his fellow Iwa Jinchuriki, along with any others he'd ran into during the past few years.

We'd know if something happen to Shukaku, because he'd let us know through this space, surely.

He certainly wasn't acting like a captured Bijū, so the Akatsuki hadn't made their move for Gaara yet.

Exhaustion sweeping over me, I sank fully against Kurama's soft fur, eyes falling closed. Some things were still missing, but-

"Thanks Kurama. That went better than I thought it would."

Both the meeting with Shukaku and the seal thing.

We could do this.


	14. The Red Sand

 

 

We made good time, crossing through the remaining forest of the Land of Fire, opening up to the short expanse of fields that just boarded Konoha territory. The farmers and all their children stared blatantly at us as we shot across their lands. No doubt they'd seen many a ninja pass by, it wasn't like this wasn't a route often used.

But we were, I would admit, a very colourful group.

Only Sasuke's hair was a somewhat 'normal' colour, the dark coal of a Land of Fire native.

Sakura had to have family roots somewhere between Rain, Rock and Sand, because those were the only places people with such lightly coloured hair, such brightly coloured hair, were born.

The Hatake clan, I knew, originally came from Rain Country hundreds of years ago, but had moved to the Land of Fire for better business opportunities at some point during the Clan Wars.

The Namikazes had actually been merchants from Rock, according to Kakashi. Namikaze Minato had been in the Leaf as a toddler when he was suddenly orphaned by a Konoha Nin attempting to go Missing Nin. Needless to say, that wannabe Missing Nin hadn't made it out of the village.

The fact the greatest terror of Iwa was actually born in Rock country was conveniently left out of the history books.

Considering this, it wasn't difficult to imagine the kinds of psychological effects the Uzumaki could have managed with their hair colour. Shrouded in the mist and storms that Uzu had once been famous for, they'd have been a blood red blot. Was that a spray of blood, or the hair of an approaching Uzumaki?

It was almost up to par with Zabuza's Silent Killing Technique.

Oh, if only I'd gotten the intimidating Uzumaki red, instead of the bright blonde that was perhaps the most hated shade of colour in Iwa. Maybe Kumo too.

Regardless, we were a colourful bunch, darting across the farmers land, little children watching us go and squealing with joy as we sped past.

"Cute, huh?" I elbowed Sakura in the side, gesturing to the children that were slowly disappearing as we covered more ground, the fields fanning out into sandy dunes. My chakra adjusted instinctively beneath my feet to combat with the significantly unstable ground.

"You think kids are cute?" Sakura asked dubiously, turning to look over her shoulder. By now though, we were well out of range at which she'd have been able to get another glimpse of them.

"Don't you?"

In the original manga, Sakura had gone on to marry Sasuke and have his child, a girl if I remembered right. I hadn't paid too much attention to the rest of the manga past the ending in which Naruto and Sasuke had blown their arms off. I'd really, really like to avoid that myself.

Luckily, it seemed like Sasuke was already changed for the better.

"I guess one would be okay," Sakura murmured, lips puckering as she thought, while Kakashi snorted under his breath.

"Well I want a lot. At least three. Maybe four or five."

It was a dream that'd carried over from my old life. I loved kids. I'd had three younger cousins, all born while I was in my teens, and I'd loved spending time with them. Having a family had been the big dream of my old life. I'd just not had chance to live it out.

Once, once everything was okay here, maybe I'd be able to pick that dream up again.

"No." Kakashi suddenly snapped with an absolute finality about his tone, and it took me a second to realize he was responding to my comment.

"What the hell do you mean no?! My body my rules!"

Sasuke was smirking from where he was running beside me, a low snicker escaping between his lips as I growled at the two males in annoyance.

"Maa, your Tou-chan would kill me if I didn't put up some resistance to that idea, Naruto-chan."

"But, but why?" Why wouldn't Minato want his daughter to have her own family? Especially when she'd grown up an orphan? Surely Kakashi didn't think Minato would want that for his daughter? For me?

"Maa, that involves a boy touching you, Naruto. And you're banned remember?"

Heh, Gaara and the Chũnin Exams. And Haku in Wave. Well, at least Kakashi didn't know about-

"Too late for that. Haku already had his way with her."

My eyes shot over to Sasuke, mock betrayal wrote all over my face.

Okay, so maybe we'd gone to Mist again a fortnight before we came back to Konoha and maybe I'd spent some time -a night or two- with Haku. Scowling, I punched -a gentle punch, we were only playing after all- Sasuke in the arm. It didn't stop Kakashi's sudden spike of killer intent.

"Too far, Sasuke, too far." Shaking my head in mock disappointment, I folded my arms across my chest, running backwards in front of the smirking Uchiha boy.

This was the down side to social Sasuke. He liked to tease, and usually that was okay when it was just Jiraiya. It wasn't like either of us would've been able to get one over on the legendary Sannin. But ratting me out to Kakashi, really?

"At least I wasn't seduce into bed by a sissy lord's daughter."

Sasuke's scowl hardened, a low nod of 'we're even now'. Hell no we weren't. Not until I done dropping that on Shisui when we got back. If I was gonna have to put up with Kakashi's moping face, then Sasuke was going to get the ribbing of a lifetime from his cousin.

"Who's this Haku boy, Naruto?"

Speaking of ribbing-

Scowling at Sakura when Kakashi's killer intent spiked again, I flicked a spark of chakra at one of the seals resting beneath my bandaged forearm, pulling out a photo book. If it weren't for ninja reflexes, finding the right page at the speed we were moving at would have been impossible, but I found it nevertheless, handing it over to Sakura.

"Oh! He's cute, a Mist Nin?"

"It was just a bit of fun between friends really."

It hadn't been anything too serious between the two of us. Haku was seventeen, maybe eighteen now, so it hadn't felt weird. Huh, I didn't even know how old Haku was. I just knew he was two and a bit years older than me. I'd have to actually get him to tell me his birthday, not knowing it was bad. Bad friend.

Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to running forwards, and then tried not to cringe too much as Kakashi took a moment to offer the 'disappointed in you' face over his shoulder. Okay, I was so dropping Sasuke in it when he got back. After all, that Lord's daughter was just the first of many.

.

Camp for the night had been set up when it began.

Nestled under one of the large rocks that perturbed the desert sand and offered a buffer to the gritty wind, I'd been curled up on the floor, eyes only just starting to flutter shut as sleep began to overtake me. I had the early shift again in the morning, and Sakura was taking the first watch; as the medic it was best she got the greatest amount of uninterrupted sleep. There was an irritating amount of sand that'd snuck into my sleeping bag, but I was putting up with it, the itchy grains scratching at my legs.

Of course, just as I was slowly drifting off to sleep, there was the oddest sound in the distance.

I shot up, because odd sounds in the world of Naruto usually meant incoming death, or at the very least, an attack you were unfamiliar with.

Kakashi too, being the only other one with enchanting hearing among our group, was alert, looking out over the horizon for the source of the strange noise.

Getting up and out of the little shelter, I flipped up onto the rock, staring out into the distance, trying to figure out just what the hell that sound was. It was familiar, but from such a distance, the sound muffled by the sand, it was hard to pick out just what the cause was without hearing it again.

Narrowing my eyes, I leant forwards a bit, straining my sight and hearing.

And then there it was, ever so quiet, in a string of quick successions, was the sound of a multitude of bombs going off. Who did I know of that used bombs?

"Suna's under attack!" I cried, rapping my chakra coated nails against the metal of my headband and letting out a ringing sound that woke both Sasuke and Sakura.

Kakashi startled, but I was already off, eating up the distance between camp and Suna. We were at least an hour out at the pace we'd been going, and Kakashi had opted for camp because hey, it was an easy mission, no rush. Plus, he'd wanted to keep to his three day schedule.

Camping out in the desert was apparently an 'experience'.

But now, now bombs were going off in Suna. And I only knew of one criminal that'd dare do that.

Still, it'd take me ten minutes to cover that distance at my top speed to reach Suna, and that was really pushing myself. I wouldn't get there in time, not in time to help this fight. Maybe with enough time to give chase, but that wasn't enough, not enough certainty. This was a game of luck now.

' ** _Tch, no it's not._** '

Chakra flared through my system, bubbling up and surrounding my limbs in a glowing red halo of power. Three red tails curled around at the corners of my vision, and I could all but feel the toothy smirk that Kurama was no doubt giving me. Oh, I might not have been able to get there on my own chakra in less than ten minutes, but with Kurama's burning red energy spurring me on, it cut that time down. It cut it right down.

Taking off across the sand with renewed vigour, all of the sleep having left me, I let my own chakra start to build up, ready for a fight. It'd be a minute till I was in Suna. It would take nine minutes after that for Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura to arrive.

It would have to be enough.

* * *

Sasori of the Red Sand, Missing Nin of Suna and Akatsuki member, stared up at the mass amounts of sand that was gathering in the village, rising into the sky to cut Deidara off. Of course the brat would fail his infiltration, he was too cocky.

Still, as long as he did his job and didn't keep Sasori waiting, the puppeteer was fine with that.

Then, given the vengeful state of the universe, the red haired nin shouldn't have been surprised when things took a turn for the worst. All of a sudden, there was a massive flare of chakra from the south, the kind of chakra that was easily on the same level as Kisame.

Straightening up on the rock he'd been sat on for the past few minutes, Sasori cocked his head to a side, the wooden joints cricking and echoing within the hallow cavern of Hiruko.

Whoever all that chakra belonged to, they were coming in hot. And they were coming in angry.

Preparing himself, Sasori rolled the puppets shoulders with a flick of his fingers, checking all joints were capable of full movement. It wouldn't do well to go into a fight and then find out the sand had clogged up any important joints. The One Tail Jinchuriki certainly had some interesting powers, able to control sand as he did. Maybe once they were done with him, he'd be allowed to keep the body, to add it to his collection.

Frowning as the incoming chakra gave another burst of power, Sasori carefully removed the face cloth that covered the joint of Hiruko's mouth, readying himself to face the oncoming threat.

It skidded to a halt before him, a vision in orange, long blonde hair and whiskered cheeks. The Nine Tailed Jinchuriki.

Oh, what a shame they could only deal with one Jinchuriki at a time, given the fact one of them had come straight to him.

She was a pretty looking thing, with hard red eyes that were slowly bleeding blue as the Bijū chakra flickered away from her.

As a Jinchuriki, she probably had some power that would make her an interesting puppet, that was for sure. Zetsu had claimed that she graduated before turning seven, a year younger than he himself had managed. His own spy network backed that up. She was talented, but she didn't have the sheer experience that he did.

Still, best to be careful.

"Sasori, right?" The Kyūbi Jinchuriki, one Uzumaki Naruto, asked, shifting from one foot to the other, eyes darting over to the mass amounts of sand hovering over Suna, paying particular attention to the bombs going off.

The Brat was already having problems with one Jinchuriki, he'd fail against two. It seemed it was up to him to keep the Uzumaki off his back. She looked calm, clearly having realised she'd have to get through him first in order to go and aid the One Tail Jinchuriki.

But she wasn't quaking in her sandals, she wasn't looking impatient. This was a girl- No, this was a shinobi that'd already taken a death blow and lived to tell the tale.

And he knew which one as well. Zetsu had all sorts of information on the Jinchuriki, anything that could be used against them. He wasn't above psychological warfare. Sometimes, when done just right, it was a lot cleaner, a lot quicker, than a messy battle.

"I must thank you, the Iwa nin that Sharingan Kakashi and yourself took out those years ago made a good addition to my collection. "

The slightest tensing of the skin around her eyes; not as temperamental as her teammate then, not as obsessed with anything close to revenge. She fought to protect. Those were always the hard ones to rile up.

Unless, you already held the leverage.

"Deidara should be done with the Jinchuriki soon," Sasori spoke with the hoarser tones he favoured for the façade of Hiruko.

And there it was, the straightening of shoulders, the tightening of fists, the snarl on the face. She wasn't without buttons to prod. You just had to know the right ones to put pressure on.

"I won't let you get them."

"Them?" Sasori asked, amused.

There was no them. There was the Jinchuriki and his Bijū, and that was all. Surely she had realized he was stalling for time by now?

As if to answer his question, a ball of condensed chakra began to form within the palm of her hand, one Sasori recognised. The Fourth Hokage's original jutsu. The Rasengan. So, the game beings now, did it?

"I-Kurama and I, will not let you get them."

There was another burst of the ferocious chakra from earlier, a single red tail snapping about behind the girl as the orb in her hand quivered from the sudden influx of chakra.

Kurama? So, she'd given the beast a name, had she? Clearly they hadn't been on talking terms for long, struggling to hold that jutsu under the sudden influx of Bijū chakra as she was. At least he didn't have to worry about all that power having any finesse to it.

Now he just had to pay attention to how skilled she was without the Bijū.

"Well, I do hate to be kept waiting. Perhaps you can entertain me for a while." Firing the poisoned darts from Hiruko's mouth, Sasori watched in appreciation as the girl flipped effortlessly out of the way, the red tail snapping out and batting away the ones that got too close anyway.

Two kunais came his way, and they were deflected by the mechanical tail that swept out from beneath his cloak.

"Your poisons won't work, Kurama will burn it all away before it could do me any damage." The girl sounded smug, and in all honesty, she had the right to. Few could claim immunity to all the common poisons, and he knew of no one that could claim immunity to his own cocktails.

"Then perhaps it is a good thing we wish to take you alive."

Uzumaki jerked her tanned hands together, forming a cross seal he'd seen far few times in his life. The Shadow Clone technique, a Leaf signature. And most importantly of all, it required an ungodly amount of chakra to be used to the full effect. It hadn't surprised him to learn the Jinchuriki knew this technique.

And he had his own means of combating it.

Quickly pulling out of Hiruko's body, Sasori unrolled the scroll that held his army. He'd only just managed to unseal them all in time in order to clash with the one-man army that was Uzumaki Naruto.

It was a dance. He'd once taken down an entire country with this collection, but that had been against civilians, thugs, and the shinobi that'd been scraped from the bottom of the barrel.

Uzumaki was good. She met each of the puppets head on, a fluid grace to each of her movements, be they with kunai, with taijutsu, or with a Rasengan in hand. He was forced into constant movement, not only attacking, but defending his own body, Hiruko long since blown to pieces. He'd put it back together later, the clunky body of Hiruko would have only been a disadvantage against this girl anyway.

She pressed forwards relentlessly, summoning up more clones when she began to lack on numbers, something which he was unable to do. He could rebuild puppets, true, but the parts had to intact. And after watching him rebuild a pair once, Uzumaki got the message and went about destroying as much as she could.

A tanned fist approached his face, and Sasori launched himself back, only just dodging the Bijū chakra that threatened to eat away at his body.

Instead, it took the puppet he threw in her path, the fleshy human puppet dissolving under the force of all that chakra. It was interesting to watch the corrosive chakra at work, and part of him itched to get a hold of the girl's body; she would make a fearsome puppet indeed.

"It would appear it is time to bring out my favourite." If he had veins, perhaps his blood would be pumping inside of them, instead of just curling about in the smaller cavity holding his heart. It had been a while since he'd had to bring out the Third Kazekage.

The girl was completely still as he unsealed the Third, but it only took him a second to realize she wasn't being stupidly courteous, and was instead powering up some kind of jutsu. Two of her clones were sat on the desert sand behind her, and they too were completely still.

Interesting, he'd not heard of a technique like this, and he'd been partnered with Orochimaru for so long. The man had been obsessed, was still obsessed, with mastering all the jutsus in the world. Yet, he'd never mentioned anything like this. For the girl to start using it when facing the Third, it had to be something powerful, that was for sure.

The Iron Sand had lost its poisonous edge in the face of this girl, given her apparent immunity to it, but that didn't make it any less formidable. The red Bijū chakra was gone now, but he didn't underestimate her. That was how one got killed.

A fetching shade of orange had spread out across her eyelids, and when her eyes snapped open, coming face to face with the compressed iron sand that'd been launched at her, they were almost golden in colour, the pupil a horizontal bar.

Like a toad's.

Her fist shot up, and even without connecting, the compressed iron sand bullet was thrown aside as if it were a mere fly before her.

Interesting.

"And this is?" He found himself asking in spite of their battle, watching as the girl stood, rolling her shoulders back as she did so.

He didn't know what this power was, what this form was. It had nothing to do with the Bijū, that much was obvious. His spies had reported the girl had shown the ability to use her Bijū chakra, something that'd been proven in her Chũnin Preliminaries.

But there had been no word of these strange golden eyes and orange rimmed eyes.

Uzumaki seemed to consider him for a moment, but was a gracious enough opponent to answer his question.

"Sage Mode. The Toads taught me to summon natural energy and convert it into something I can use alongside my physical and spiritual energy, granting me the ability to use Senjutsu Chakra. Like Senju Hashirama once did."

Right, that was a bit humbling.

An ability that the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, had once used? He was very, very interested.

How had Orochimaru not heard of this? Or perhaps he had, and had just been unable to achieve such a state. He knew for a fact that with the snake constantly moving bodies his spiritual and physical energy would be in a flux, he probably couldn't balance natural energy on top of that.

She'd stayed still while collecting all that natural energy, so evidentially there were downsides to the technique. He'd foolishly allowed her the time to gather it when he was retrieve the Third with a bit more showmanship than was perhaps strictly necessary.

Well, this was much better than just waiting for the brat to finish.

* * *

Shooting out of the way of another bullet of iron sand, I felt my chakra flare as it forcibly popped one of my clones, reinforcing my sage mode while my mind whirled for a way to deal with the Third Kazekage.

Iron Sand.

Manga Sakura had beaten it with the help of Sasori's grandmother. I didn't exactly have her to hand though, Kurama was my only backup.

Five minutes until Kakashi and co arrived, and that was optimistically.

Five minutes until I had some back-up against Sasori.

Five minutes in which Gaara had to keep protecting Suna and himself.

In a world where battles were decided within a split second, five minutes was far too long. The question was, how dense was the Iron Sand? Would I be able to force my way through it with a Rasengan, or would I just be met with the crushing force that Sasori was currently wielding?

My best bet was to take out the puppet, but that required getting past the iron sand anyway.

Frowning, I ran through the seal for a quick wind jutsu, whipping up a whirl of sand for cover. Out of the two of us right now, in Sage Mode, I had the best senses, even if this was the first time I used it on the battle field. But I could feel Sasori's chakra, the strings he had attached to the puppet, the strange way it interacted with the human puppet to force it's kekkei genkai forth.

I didn't have a chakra scalpel to break the strings.

But maybe, I didn't need one.

Dashing forwards, I rolled under the first swipe of iron sand, A hastily made clone sacrificed its life to throw me up and over the second swipe, and taking a hit to the left arm had given me the chance to skid around the Third Kazekage to latch onto the chakra strings.

Instantly, the glowing blue threads quivered under the sudden influx of natural energy, and Sasori, not being an idiot, released them from his own fingertips.

It was far too late to save the Third Kazekage however, the natural energy turning the human puppet into a deformed stone statue.

Taking a quick glance at the toad like features of what had once been Suna's greatest pride, I turned my attention back to Sasori, feeling Sage Mode slip through my fingers.

One clone left. Two minutes worth of Sage Mode from that clone. Four minutes until the rest of Team Kakashi arrived.

Four minutes.

Sasori's army was down, the Third Kazekage now a stone statue slowly sinking into the sand. If I was remembering right, if nothing important had changed, then-

"I'll acknowledge that you're worthy of recognition."

My eyes narrowed, fists tightening. I was intimately aware of the single clone behind me, it could only be allowed to pop when I needed the natural energy and not a second before. I couldn't afford to waste it. Already I'd used too much of Kurama's potent chakra and my pathways were still burning from the sudden influx it was unused to.

I needed to preserve, I needed to avoid using Kurama's chakra because Sasori was just stage one. There was still Deidara to beat and Gaara to save.

"It's been a long time, since I've used myself."

Yes, Sasori made a terrifying sight. The sharp blades protruding from his back in a mockery of deadly wings, the whip like iron which had replaced his intestines slowly lifting him into the air, the sharp spike digging into the ground beneath him.

Swallowing hard, I rolled my shoulders, sucking in a breath with a voice that sounded suspiciously like Shisui whispering ' _Don't fight hard, fight smart._ '

Right now though, fighting smart was throwing myself out of the way of those flamethrower hands. The sand beneath the blaze instantly turned to glass and the scent of burning hair let me know that I'd lost the tips of my blond mane to the fire. The heat was blistering, scorching the bare skin of my arms, the warmth uncomfortably seeping in through the bandages that wrapped around my forearms and biceps.

Gritting my teeth, I launched myself under the flames, throwing one arm up and hissing in pain as the skin burnt under the proximity of the fire. Still, my feet hit the glass, skidding across the smooth surface with a little aid from some careful chakra application. I curved around on the glass as if it were made from ice, darting forwards as a Rasengan twirled to life in my hand.

There was a loud click as Sasori's mechanical hands cut off the flamethrowers, either out of juice -though there was a chance he was using some form of chakra to power those flames- or simply deciding to go for another tactic.

Leaping up, I threw the hand holding my Rasengan forwards before my body, ploughing into the sand as Sasori managed to just duck to the side and out of my path.

With a growl, I spun on the limb, brining my feet back under my body just in time to dance out of the way of that metal whip intending to skewer me.

So focused was I on the fight, that I didn't register the presence to my back until lightning was already arching over my head, colliding with the metal and crackling into Sasori's puppet body faster than a ninja could blink.

Head snapping back, I stared at Sasuke, slick with sweat Sasuke, who's sword was pointed towards us and still smoking from the lightning he'd just thrown into the battle. Most importantly of all, there was a heavy sheen of perspiration covering his pale brow, and from the reddening of his cheeks, he'd given up the chakra control exercise that blocked sunburn in favour of activating his own sage mode.

Sharp, lilac streaks covered his eyes, dipping to a point on either side of his nose, and eyes the same shade of gold stared back at me, the only difference from my own being the shape of the pupil.

"Idiot," Sasuke grumbled under his breath, dashing forwards without a second of hesitation.

I followed after him, the scent of burnt wood occupying my thoughts for a mere moment before I was dashing onwards too, weaving in and out beside Sasuke, deflecting the poisoned senbon aimed for him and trusting Sasuke to let me know when the blades on Sasori's back were getting a little too close for comfort.

Twisting to a side, I ducked beneath another unnervingly sharp blade, hissing when the tricky curve on the end nicked my elbow, only for Sasori to jerk to a stop, puppet joints creaking disconcertingly at the sudden lack of motion,

Even with my bangs sticking to the side of my cheek and blocking half my sight, it wasn't difficult to see Sasuke, twisted at an angle and with his sword deep in the chest cavity that was Sasori's heart. Already I could feel the demonic chakra burning through my veins, sweating out the poison that would otherwise kill me.

"Wait."

Stumbling over to Sasuke and stopping a cautious amount before Sasori -a given really, it wouldn't surprise me if he tried to take us down with him-, I swiped at the perspiration that covered my forehead.

The redhead was looking straight at me, with those glaze, sightless brown eyes. He might be able to see, but those eyes were just wood. How Sasori had managed to create this body, well, it was truly a wonder.

"I won't be able to move for much longer. Before that, I'll do something pointless for you, a reward, for defeating me…" Sasori's voice was starting to rasp now. Perhaps if his body had been human, he'd have already collapsed. But he was a puppet, made of joints and oil instead of limbs and blood.

"If you want to know about Orochimaru, go to the Tenchi bridge in Grass Country, at noon, fifteen days from now... I desire to see that traitor pay..."

And with that, Sasori of the Red Sand spoke his last.

.

Pulling his blade free with a sickeningly familiar squelch, Sasuke went about cleaning the light littering of blood from the metal surface, a frown on his red face.

"That was stupid," he spoke softly, quietly, and I tempered the instinctive wince that wanted to burst free.

If Sasuke were upset, he'd glare a bit, maybe even offer a very small frown that could probably fall under the classification of a pout. When Sasuke was furious though, he spoke with a false tranquillity, giving off the impression of a volcano just waiting to erupt.

"Can we not discuss this after we save Gaara?" I snapped back, already itching to take off running towards the village.

Sasuke's scowl deepened, red eyes narrowing as they scanned the stretch of sand between our current location and Suna. The muscles of my thighs twitched, rearing and crying out to take off running again, to go and save my fellow Jinchuriki. Thanks to all the interference I'd caused with my presence, everything was up in the air.

Gaara could fight Deidara off on his own. Or, he could be kidnapped regardless, only, there wouldn't be a gruffly kind old woman to save him here.

This wasn't a manga with a plotline prewritten, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to change as much as I had. Shisui would be dead, Sasuke would be under Orochimaru's tutorage, Haku wouldn't be alive. I could take nothing for granted here, because this was reality now.

Gritting my teeth, I looked over my shoulder at the sound of shifting sand, wincing at the look Kakashi wore, one that promised chastisement the second he could manage it. The second we weren't about to rush into an open battlefield against one of the Akatsuki.

"Good work," Kakashi murmured, looking over Sasori's corpse with a brief glance before his eye shifted back to focus on the three of us.

Sakura looked winded, but still stood tall and proud, back straight and startling green eyes alert.

"The three of you will go on ahead, I will secure Sasori's body, on the off chance he has any fail safes in place. Naruto's in charge."

Nodding sharply, I turned to look at my two teammates, meeting their determined gazes for a brief second before we once again took off across the desert landscape, kicking up clouds in our wake.

I kept pace with Sasuke, just slightly ahead of Sakura, our medic nin.

"When we get there," I spoke between short, sharp inhales, my breathing remaining as even as I could keep it in preparation for a fight, "Sakura will aid any casualties. Sasuke, you're backing me up. We're looking at explosive release, weak against lightning."

"Got it."

Taking a second to shoot the dark haired boy a grateful smile, I swung my gaze back around to face Suna.

The ground rumbled beneath our feet, sand rising into the sky and forming a protective shield over the city as the biggest explosion yet burst through the air.

The shockwave blew civilians off their feet, and it was only thanks to a quick application of chakra that we managed to stay on our own. My ears rung, brain throbbing within my head, my shattered eardrums pulsating with pain. I could feel Kurama's chakra surge, already healing the damage, and as I turned to look at the duo that stood only ever so slightly behind me, I noted Sakura finishing up healing her own ears and moving onto Sasuke's.

Grimacing, I quickly scaled the nearest building, peering up into the sky and searching out the floating orb of sand. It's surface was crumbling; the clay construction flew closer, and fury rose within me as a figure that could only have been Deidara hauled Gaara out of his safe little cocoon.

My fingers itched, itched for any kind of long range jutsu, but there were none I knew that wouldn't catch Gaara within its destructive force too. Kurama's furious snarl rumbled about deep in my mindscape, but the both of us were well aware that I was not yet acquainted enough with his chakra to pull off the full transformation; the only thing that'd get us close enough to save Gaara.

For a brief, bitter second, I regretted changing Sasuke's curse mark. Didn't that thing come with wings?

As soon as the thought crossed my mind though, instant guilt dropped into my stomach.

Sasuke had been twelve. He had been twelve with the weight of a dead family pressing own on his shoulders and what was apparently a genetic weakness that meant he'd topple off the deep end should he lose everything he loved.

Hell, it was probably thanks to Shisui's survival that he hadn't turned out so much worse. Because rampant jealously would've been the key factor in our team had my best friend not had Shisui to ground him. Hell, I probably wouldn't be as well-rounded as a person without that particular Uchiha.

If there was one thing I'd evidentially gotten right, it was Shisui's survival.

"There's hundreds of landmines beneath Suna," Sasuke snapped, Sharingan red eyes spinning and my teeth ground together. It was an earth jutsu, and out of the three of us-

"Sasuke, you'll have to deal with those. Sakura and I will give chase."

It was the only logical conclusion; out of the three of us, Sasuke was the only one with true Lightning jutsus, and the ability to locate the bombs. I could probably sense them if I focused enough, but I didn't have any lightning jutsus.

And while Sakura apparently knew one or two, she wasn't trained to sense constructs of chakra like the two of us were. She was a medic nin first and foremost, she was best present wherever a battle was happening.

"When Kakashi get's here, send him after us while he's still fresh, and once you're done with the bombs, catch up."

Sasuke nodded, paused, before reaching out and clashing my shoulder with one steady hand.

"Be careful."

Nodding, I gave his wrist a light squeeze, a silent promise I'd do my damn best to come out of this alive. And I would. Because I'd already died once, I had no desire to do such a thing again, to find out if there was a third chance if I messed up the second one.

"You too."

Turning to Sakura, I didn't even have to ask which direction the clay bird had flown off in, the pinkette just turned on heel and began bounding through the streets of Suna that were half submerged in the sane Gaara had raised in its defence.

Sakura's footwork was impeccable, impossibly steady in a way that suggested she'd move across sandy terrain before. Sasuke and I had only spent a week in the desert however, and I don't know about the Uchiha, but I still slipped up every so often when I was moving across the golden grains.

Instead, I stuck to the solid foundations that were the houses of Suna, shooting up and past several Suna ANBU that were clearly going to help the victims of the Deidara's bombs.

Gaara was great, but even he couldn't save everyone from that mass attack. What he'd managed was commendable when Deidara's level was taken into account. And I wouldn't let him get hurt, wouldn't let him die, because he'd been protecting people.

Such a thing was unacceptable.

* * *

Sakura was terrified.

Not quite because of the situation, because she'd trained for this. She'd been trained from a young age to be able to power forwards, to be able to handle running a knife through a human jugular and step over the still arm body like it was nothing.

Tsunade-shishou had taught her all there was to reverse the damage done to the human body, and to be able to do that, she had to know how to inflect the damage first.

No, going against the Akatsuki didn't scare her, it was after all, her duty as a medic nin and a Kunoichi of Konoha to do her very best, to give it her all.

No, what scared Haruno Sakura, was her teammate.

She'd never seen Naruto like this.

True, she'd interacted with the girl rarely before she had left for her training trip. The idea of her being a Jinchuriki had put fear in her preteen heart, and she had ended up misjudged her.

After all, Naruto had done everything she could to make sure that Sasuke and Kiba had survived that Chũnin exam. Given the fact she'd have been on the only person to recognise Orochimaru for what he was, she'd done magnificently.

But right now, it was clear that the soft hearted, joking Naruto she'd come to know since the blonde's return was gone.

Her eyes were cold, and her pacing was relentless. When they reached the open stretch of desert, the half moon providing the only light, she didn't even hesitate. Her footing wasn't certain as she made her way across the sand, but she didn't slow, just kept powering forwards in the same direction that the Akatsuki on the bird had gone.

She'd known, theoretically, that Naruto had incredible endurance and stamina. She'd just been in an S-ranked fight not thirty minutes ago, and yet she wasn't slowing down in the slightest.

Whatever wounds she had were long gone. Tsunade-shishou had warned her, had forced Sakura to study the medical records of outliers, of unnatural ninja who had quicker or slower than average healing, and Naruto's file had been one of the many among those. She'd read about the wound the blonde had suffered before Sakura had even graduated, a wound that would have killed any other person.

But Jinchuriki's were blessed with advanced healing, the higher the tail count, the better the recovery period. She'd known all of this, but it was another thing altogether to have to keep up with her like this. Had Sakura not spent the past two years training like a beast -a green one, actually- then she'd have already fallen behind.

Summoning up a slug onto her shoulder, Sakura let out a sharp breath at the dip in her chakra, rapidly rebalancing the energy until she was once again working at optimal levels. Were she not so skilled with her chakra control, she'd have already dropped from this mad rush across the sand.

"Go tell Tsunade-shishou that the Akatsuki got Gaara, they're heading for River Country."

The small slug -she hadn't had the chance to learn the messengers' names yet, she'd never really had a reason to call them before- nodding, disappearing in a poof of smoke. Back-up would come from Konoha, Tsunade-shishou would never leave them to face the Akatsuki without backup. And Kakashi-san, and Sasuke would be coming in from the East, following their trail.

It wouldn't take them long to deal with the bombs, they'd manage it fine and be backing them up before they knew it. Which was a good thing, because Sakura honestly wasn't sure on Naruto's mindset right now.

She knew the girl was close to Gaara, that they both had the Jinchuriki thing in common, but going into this without a clear head was a sure fire way to get them both killed.

.

They ran, and ran, and ran across the sand.

A day had passed, and they were on the very outskirts of the Land of Wind now. The sun was a boiling as Naruto's mounting fury. The impatience and desperation seemed to be coiling off her in waves, like a caged tiger that had nothing better to do than stalk back and forth, growling under its breath.

Given the fact that all Naruto could do right now was run, to chase after the airborne Akatsuki, it was perhaps an apt comparison.

Sweat was pooling in the dip of her collarbones, and Sakura knew if it weren't for her incredible chakra control, she'd have already dropped, exhausted and out of chakra.

Most ninja could go full speed for a day and a half. A medic nin of Sakura' calibre could double that, but anything past that? She was going to drop, and drop hard.

She prayed the Akatsuki's destination was in River Country, because otherwise Naruto was going to be on her own. And she could see now that the blonde would well and truly be on her own; she wouldn't stop for a rest until she had Gaara safe.

They were an hour into River Country when it happened.

Leaping from tree to tree, exhaustion was starting to nip at the edges of Sakura's awareness, and her gloved hand slipped into the back of her weapons pouch, pulling free one of the multitude of soldier pills that rested there. She considered things for a second, before offering one to Naruto.

The blonde blinked, pupils sharpening as she refocused her gaze on the teammate beside her instead of the upcoming branch she needed to land on.

She took the pill, popping it between her teeth and biting down.

Suddenly, Naruto's hand was clamped tight around her wrist, pulling the two of them down just as a round of kunai impaled themselves upon the tree trunk they'd just been passing. A second later, and they'd have been decorating their bodies instead.

Startled green eyes shot up, and Sakura stared at the source of those weapons, her heart leaping into her throat.

It was one thing to mentally start preparing yourself to face an S-ranked criminal, it was a different thing entirely to be face to face with Uchiha Itachi.

* * *

Skidding to a halt, I stared at the still figure of Uchiha Itachi, heart palpitating in my chest and seat collecting in the curves of my palms.

He wasn't supposed to be here. All the Akatsuki were suppose to be in their freaky cave, doing their freaky jutsu thing that would kill Gaara.

If Itachi was here, did that mean they didn't need him?

Or was it all over already?

Were the rest of the Akatsuki going to drop out of the forest now and spirit me away for my own extraction process?

' ** _Naruto! Calm down!_** ' Kurama's voice rumbled through me like fresh lightning, and a choked gasp escaped from between my lips.

Sakura's concerned eyes slid over to look at me for a second, and I grit my teeth, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it.

' ** _You're thinking emotionally, and that is not going to help you, Shukaku or his host. Look at his chakra, that's not really Uchiha Itachi._** '

Taking a moment to do as instructed, I could feel the underlying death, the sense of wrongness that came with using a jutsu that required a sacrifice.

Kurama was right, whoever that was, it wasn't the real Itachi. Sure it had some of his chakra, but it was nowhere near the right levels to be the real Uchiha.

Which meant, I could probably beat him on his own. A day awake was nothing really, not to ninja, certainly not to a Jinchuriki. With Kurama at my back, I had this one in the bag.

"Sakura, stay back. When we get Gaara back, you're going to need your chakra to heal him. I'll handle this."

Itachi's eyes, deep Sharingan red, drifted lazily until they were locked on my form. Otherwise, he didn't move a muscle.

"Naruto-chan, it's good to see you again."

I doubted it was. More than likely, Itachi was just pleased that he didn't have to face Sasuke in battle again. That he didn't have to see the boiling hatred that ran so deep in his brother's veins it might as well be all his body contained.

I couldn't even begin to imagine how much that hurt.

The images, flashback, of what I'd seen when I was caught in Itachi's Tsukuyomi, swam before my mind. Of the rampant grief that threatened to swallow this man whole as he cut down his parents, his kinsmen.

"Good to see you too, Itachi-san."

Shifting my weight from foot to foot, I chanced a glance at the space between the two of us.

If I remembered correctly, Itachi was good at everything. His ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu was perfect.

His one let down, was his stamina. He didn't have the massive chakra reserves that I did, Kakashi and maybe even Sasuke had more chakra than the man before me. Were this any other occasion, I'd play a game, drag it out.

But time was of the essence for me, he was the one that wanted to play a waiting game right now.

Such a thing was unacceptable.

Rolling the muscles of my shoulders until they were no longer bunched heavy by my torso, I adjusted my footing again, flicking a single finger at Sakura as a reminder for her to keep back.

Red eyes, Sharingan eyes, were still locked on mine, and fearlessly I met his gaze. Not watching them was a bigger hazard to me right now, because then I wouldn't know when he switched to the upgraded version. I'd be able to watch for the Mangekyō, and that was worth the risk of possibly being ensnared inside of a truly horrific genjutsu.

There was no unspoken signal, no agreement to rush into battle.

I just shot forwards as soon as I'd finished centring myself.

There was no time to be messing around with fighting etiquette, not when Gaara's life was at stake.

I didn't feel the genjutsu settle over me, but I sure as hell felt Kurama's chakra surge, felt his sharp toothed smile as he shattered the illusion with a quick flare. Itachi's face, which up until this point had been impassive, changed. It was only slightly, but I saw his eyes round slightly in shock, the Sharingan pupils dilating and the tomoe spinning rapidly as he caught my intended movements.

Our hands came together as Itachi caught my punch, and I twisted at the hips, slamming my leg into his as he blocked again. My free hand went for his face, intending to obstruct his vision, but the Uchiha was quick to disengage as Kurama's chakra bubbled into existence along my limbs.

We both paused for a second, Itachi reassessing and I attempting to throw together a new plan of attack. But perhaps, a physical attack wasn't what was needed here.

But I'd have to be careful.

I couldn't let Itachi incapacitate Sakura, nor could I allow him to delay the two of us for much longer. So, underhanded it was. Shooting forwards again, I shot through the handseal for both my jutsus, clones appearing and each one firing off a wind bullet.

For anyone else, invisible wind attacks from all directions would be incredibly dangerous. Given Itachi's Dōjutsu though, he would be able to see each and every one of them that came his way, and dodge accordingly. I don't know how bad his eyesight had gotten yet, but it had to have been degenerating since he first used it eight years ago against Sasuke.

If need be, that'd be my next plan of attack.

"Sasuke's got Orochimaru's Curse Seal, you know?"

I darted out of the way of the rapid shot fire balls that came my way, several clones popping in the wake of the attack. Itachi landed neatly, attempting another genjutsu that was torn apart rather gleefully by Kurama.

From the look on the Uchiha's face, he seemed to have realized what was happening to his preferred jutsus, because his brows furrowed ever so slightly.

"It was suppose to eat away at his mind," I continued, engaging Itachi in another bout of fast paced taijutsu.

His limbs kept up effortlessly with mine, though I did notice he kept his gaze on my forearms. Perhaps more accurately, he was assessing the chakra output to my arms, not wanting to get caught out again by the seal that'd probably broken bones in our last encounter.

Not that Sasuke and I had expected to ever get him with that again, but we still wore them anyway.

"But it's fixed now. He can think just fine. Will think just fine when I tell him the truth."

Itachi snapped at that.

I hadn't exactly been gentle with how I dropped it, nor did I actually plan on telling Sasuke about the Uchiha massacre until I had sufficient proof.

But Itachi didn't know that.

His hand went right for my throat, and in that moment, I activated the seal I'd long since moved from my arm to the necklace Tsunade gave me.

Blinding light flashed before my closed eyelids, and I drove a kunai right into through the neck of the not-real-Itachi.

The body hit the floor and I cut the chakra to the seal, quickstepping away from the deteriorating corpse that was most certainly not Uchiha Itachi.

Slowly, a relieved breath escaped from between my lips, and I twisted around to look at the wide eyed Sakura.

"Come on, we'll never catch up at this rate."

.

We shot across the landscape once again, bouncing from tree to tree, Sakura's footsteps completely in sync with my own.

Within my stomach, Kurama's own senses were stretched taunt. He'd already tried entering that sole safe haven that the Bijū shared with one another, and while he said he'd been able to feel Shukaku's chakra, the sand Bijū hadn't responded to any call at all.

He hadn't appeared before Kurama as he had done not forty eight hours ago, he hadn't spoken or projected his voice. But, his chakra had been wildly fluctuating, up and down and in no way stable at all. Kurama wouldn't voice it aloud, but he was worried, and so was I.

It'd been years since I read the manga, I couldn't remember how many days the extraction process took. I did recall that we were in Suna when the kidnapping happened, which we were not suppose to be present for, not at all.

So maybe, just maybe, we'd be able to make it in time.

Maybe Gaara wouldn't die, maybe Shukaku would get a second chance, a chance to work alongside Gaara.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself forwards that little bit quicker, clocking the quartet of chakra signatures approaching from the south.

It was only a minute later that our paths crossed, and I blinked in surprise at the sight of Team Gai.

They were all older, puppy fat well and truly gone. Lee had filled out, and what I could see of his green clad body, unprotected by anything other than the jumpsuit and a green Chũnin vest, was nothing but whip cord muscle. Tenten was the epitome of grace as she leapt form branch to branch, and Neji's stern, prideful calm fit hit to a tee. Gai, well, Gai hadn't changed a bit.

"Naruto-chan! You look well! Where is my eternal rival?"

Leaping a bit closer on my next jump so that we didn't have to shout, I sprung back up and off another tree limb, eyes scanning the surroundings, though I was reasonably sure another Itachi wasn't about to pop up out of nowhere.

"He and Sasuke stayed to defuse the bombs, given that they can see them," tapping at the sides of my temples to indicate the Sharingan, I took another glance towards the front, Kurama's reaching chakra already sensing the extraction point up ahead, "they'll probably be about an hour, two tops, behind us."

Gai nodded, looking uncommonly grave at my words, and was silent and we continued on ahead.

.

It was a five point seal. I knew that as soon as I looked at it, the evidence in each inked stroke, in the syntaxes and the curves of the marks. Informing Team Gai, they went off to take care of the other four seals, leaving Sakura and I stood before the great big rock.

If things were the same, then it should be just Deidara on the other side, considering we'd gotten a hold of Sasori and killed him already.

But we could take nothing for granted. Because it wasn't the same on my end. Sasuke was still about, and he and Kakashi were on their way here.

It was just Sakura and I, stood staring at this big rock and just waiting to get in and start ripping the Akatsuki apart.

I could feel Kurama, his violent, empowered energy bubbling about beneath my skin, burning and blazing, dying to be used. Dying to rip into the ones that would dare to hurt his siblings.

Only Kurama was allowed to do that, only he could smack them around. Not a group of S-ranked criminals.

' ** _Not as dull as my past containers._** '

' _I try. I can count on you for a chakra boost, right? Even if things get rough, we don't leave here without Gaara. Fingers crossed, Shukaku will be okay._ '

The deep, warm snort that Kurama let out wasn't particularly reassuring, but I knew I could count on him when the time came.

Adjusting the earpiece, I took another glance back in the direction we'd come from throwing my awareness out as far as I could. I still failed to sense either Kakashi or Sasuke, but there was always the chance that the two of them were moving in stealth mode, chakra tightly contained, so as not to alert any possible enemies.

"Naruto-chan, I have reached the seal!"

Lee's exuberant voice echoed down the earpiece, just a shade too loud, but not quite loud enough that it deafened me.

"I'm at the seal too!"

"As am I."

Tenten and Neji spoke one after the other, and I cringed slightly, in preparation for Gai. I was right to fortify.

"Yosh! I have also reached the seal! Let us begin, in three, two," I crouched, fingers hovering right over the left corner of the seal, Sakura tensing in front of me, "one!"

Ripping the paper clean off the rock surface, I darted out of the way as Sakura shot forwards, battle cry ringing through the air before her tiny fist hit the rock.

And it shattered.

Watching Tsunade perform such terrifying moves was one thing. Watching tiny, thin Sakura, who's thirteen year old self still overlapped her sometimes, crack that boulder like an egg, was a bit horrifying.

How Canon-Naruto had taken her punches so often, I didn't have the slightest idea. Nor did I ever want to find out.

A ringing crack echoed though the air as the rock broke, crumbling flaky pastry but with a lot more dust.

A quick wind jutsu flicked it away, and I shot forwards, internally assessing the mass of chakra in the room. I could feel Shukaku's chakra, could feel Gaara's dwindling energy.

More importantly, though there were several chakra signatures in the room, they were projections.

Only one was present. Several sets of eyes snapped around to look at me, and I forced myself not to scream as I shot into the strange spectrum of energy surrounding Gaara.

It was impossible to really describe somewhere between a knife severing every limb I had, ever organ shrinking and expanding and shuddering, even as my bone began to burn.

And Gaara had been here for so long.

But he was still alive.

He still had chakra.

With a snarl, I felt Kurama's chakra flare, and I crossed my arms in front of my face, unable to stop the pained scream that escaped my lips.

Nevertheless, the wave of pure fury that was Bijū chakra exploded out of me, slamming into every visage of the Akatsuki and forcing them out, dispersing the apparitions and knocking Deidara back into the wall.

Gaara felt unnaturally still in my arms, but I could still sense his chakra, however little there was, sluggishly moving about in his limbs. Kurama roared in victory when he found Shukaku's chakra there too. There was so little of it, so very little, but it was there.

Which meant Shukaku was still there, and he could recover from chakra exhaustion. We'd managed it as humans, a Bijū would recover.

And I'd changed something again, because Gaara was alive without Sasori's grandmother.

A panicked laugh escaped my lips as I knelt on the ground, cradling Gaara's head in my lap and one hand running through the fine red hair that rested atop it.

Of course, that didn't last long.

Something sliced into me, and I only managed to register it in time to avoid a killing blow, instead feeling the kunai dig deep into my rib, life-threateningly deep.

Hissing, I held Gaara tight in one arm, the other curling around my bleeding side as I backed up real quick. In my sheer joy, high on my victory, I'd forgotten about Deidara.

Swearing under my breath, I threw Gaara to Sakura as best I could manage with my abdomen half open, snarling when the muscles screamed in protest. Kurama was already hard at work on it, and my chakra pathways burned, screamed that it was too much.

That I was pushing too hard.

I hadn't had chance to separate the malice that'd infected Kurama's chakra, that ran through it like a disease, like a poison. I needed to do that as soon as I had a chance.

We both needed it.

Kurama would be better off for it, and I wouldn't feel like I needed to go dive in the ocean every time I used it.

"Heal him, Sakura!"

My voice sounded irritatingly hoarse to my own ears, and I flipped out of the way of a clay bomb, gritting my teeth as I had to intercept the other heading for my pink haired teammate.

"You're gonna be next. I'll kill the pink one, and once we're finished draining the red-head brat, you're next."

Snarling, I gestured for Sakura to run with Gaara, to flee. Because I couldn't defend both of them and myself in an enclosed space like this, not against a ninja who's main method of attack was to blow things up. Being anywhere with a roof over my head was asking for trouble.

My breathing was coming in pants now, my lungs dry and aching for water. Flicking a storage seal on my wrist -mentally noting I was at half reserves chakra wise, having used more in the run than I'd expected- I let the geyser of water shower down, shielding Sakura's escape with Gaara.

The Akatsuki, Deidara, roared in fury, and I snarled back, equally as mad. Especially when another shower of bomb evaporated half my water supply. Scooping a bit up with a chakra magnet hand, I gulped it down, feeling the liquid settle into my stomach as I flashed through handseals.

"Water Style, Water Kraken Strike."

Eight thick, tentacle like strands of water rise and begin whipping out at Deidara, who cursed loudly as he was forced to duck and dive out the way.

I could feel Sakura's chakra, panicked and fluttery, as she tried to heal and flee at the same time. She was no doubt as exhausted as I was, and my teeth ground hard against one another, a grimace on my face as I dashed forward to meet Deidara in battle again.

He blocked my first strike, and the second, but the third managed to knock him away. He wasn't a close combat fighter, he was long distance. It was obvious, no point in using explosive jutsus if he was going to have to be close by them, risking his own head.

That and the fact he was missing one arm was a huge help.

Seemed like Gaara got a chance to tear that off after all. Still though, it appeared I had underestimated Deidara's burning need for vengeance, because as a hand spat out one clay doll, he exploded it almost in my face, regardless of the burns he suffered to his own hand.

Screaming in pain and surprise, I collapsed backwards, tears collecting in the corner of my eyes at the sensation.

Blinking, I forced my body back up, catching sight of Deidara disappearing through the opening of the cave, and another unfortunate word escaped from between my lips as I forced myself up.

Sakura was tried, she was weighed down with Gaara and had her attention split. Deidara, on the other hand, hadn't been on the run for several days, had ready-made transportation, and a good helping of chakra to go with it.

Swearing under my breath again, I took off after the blond, grunting as the skin of my burnt face stung against the cool wind.

' _I'd really like to not have a big burn scar on my face, Kurama._ '

' ** _On it, brat._** '

The wince that came was Kurama's chakra was reflective now, but a sigh of relief came up from my lungs when my face stopped burning in response.

Reaching for my chakra, I spun it around, working into wind chakra, ready to unleash it upon Deidara as soon as I had a clean shot.

As luck would have it though, I didn't need to.

.

Skidding to a halt at the sight of Sasuke and Kakashi stood before Sakura, Temari and Kankurō covering her back, the panic just drained right out of me.

Kakashi's the first to notice me, followed quickly by Sasuke, who shoots over to catch me as my knees wobble.

"The Akatsuki decided he didn't want to fight four reasonably fresh shinobi," he offers in way of an explanation, and I just nod, pressing my face into the curve of Sasuke's neck.

The adrenaline that'd been fuelling me since we'd heard the first bomb, since we'd first started that mad dash to Suna, has left me now that it's all over. It was the lowest I've been on chakra in months, and my every limb was aching with how far I've pushed them, with how much of Kurama's chakra I've forced through them.

"Sleep, Naruto. We've got this." And I trusted Sasuke. I trusted Kakashi.

So sleep I did.

.

By the time I woke up, night has fallen and the entire group was laid out around a dwindling campfire.

Gai was on watch, stationed over his students with a particularly vigilant look in his eyes as he scanned the clearing. Much to my amusement, Lee was curled up around Tenten, while Neji laid at least three feet away from the two of them. Even in his sleep, he's against public displays of affection.

Sniffing the air, my nose scrunched up at the scent of roasted chestnuts, and slowly I sat up, pushing a Leaf Jonin vest off of my body. Given Kakashi's simple blue shirt, it clear who it belongs to, and I took a moment to tuck it around his body.

In that light not quite sleep but not quite awake state, his chakra reached out until it recognises mine, and then receded back, recovering from his mad dash across the countries.

Shifting about, I made my way over to the fire, dropping onto the felled log beside Gaara. He didn't flinch, didn't move.

Just kept his sand in the fire -not quite hot enough to turn it to glass, but certainly warm enough to heat the chestnuts no doubt inside- and his eyes on the flickering flames.

Without hesitation, I reached out and wrapped my fingers around his own, staring into the flames too. We were quiet for a while, simply sitting there and enjoying the peace, enjoying the fact we were both still here, both still present on the face of this earth.

"How're you feeling?"

"Sore. My chakra pathways are all but burnt up, and it will take several days of exposure to medical chakra just to get them working correctly once again… Shukaku has lost a lot of chakra too."

Glancing at the redhead from the corner of my eye, I raised a brow, feeling Kurama perk up inside my mindscape too at the mention of his baby brother. He might insist he didn't care, but he totally did.

"You spoke?"

"We did," Gaara confirmed, sand recoiling from the fire and unwrapping to expose the chestnuts beneath. With another gesture, the sand wore away at the hard shell, until only the tender innards remained.

Accepting one of the offered nuts, I popped it between my lips, turning back to look at the fire even as Gaara's hand -long fingers, smooth skin- tightened its grip.

"I almost died. Shukaku was almost absorbed. They almost destroyed my village."

Pain shot through my heart at the idea, the idea of everyone I loved in my village getting killed by the people trying to sever Kurama from me.

No, I would never allow that to happened. It didn't matter that they'd been ink and paper to me near a decade ago. Right now, they were real. They were my family and friends and I would never let them get hurt if I could prevent it.

Just like I wouldn't let them hurt Kurama. Because he was one of my -to steal Haku's words- precious people too.

The fox was quiet, even more so than Gaara, who I could at least hear breathing.

"Kurama and I are going to try contacting the others in the mindscape in three days. It'd be a great help if you were there."

The redhead blinked, tired teal eyes turning from the fire to finally look at me, and he offered a fatigued smile.

"Thank you, Naruto. We will be there."

Nodding, I ate another chestnut, returning my gaze to the fire and letting my mind just rest for the first time in three days.


End file.
